Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: A True Friend
by myraah
Summary: I took my favorite Pokemon game-Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time- and made it into a story that did not mention Pokemon in it at all to prove to my sister that Pokemon is not all about boring training and had some deep storylines. Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

I am a timid person. I get scared easily, and I do not have a tint of courage. Not even enough to walk up to an unfamiliar face and strike a conversation. So I don't know what overcame me that day. The day I met Kris.

It was a beautiful day, with the sunset even more beautiful. The nature-loving would occasionally come out on the beach shore and blow bubbles out to the never ending sea. Such a sight is rarely comparable to anything, its simplicity allowing it to be even more breathtaking. Naturally, I came out to sit on the beach and admire what I could. I looked out and saw the waves, taking their patterned turns and each ending on the tip of the sand where I sat. I traced the waves on the shore, when my eyes landed on something I had never seen in my life. Lying helplessly under the shade of a rock was a girl, one whose appearance was unfamiliar to me. She looked unwell. I ran over to see if she was okay. As I got closer to this girl I noticed she was drenched in water. Had she been drifted on the waves to the shoreline?

"Hello? Um, are you okay? Can you hear me?" I asked quietly, nudging her up to lean on the rock. She opened her eyes slowly. She looked at me silently, then murmured, "where am I?".

"You are on the beach of the island of Croase. I must say, I have never seen you here before. You don't live here, do you?"

"No, no I don't. I…I …I don't remember where I came from!" This girl looked panicked. I was a bit confused.

"You are clearly pulling a trick on me, and it is not worth my time to sit around and hear more lies." I stood up.

"Wait, please!" She looked desperate. I sat again, and waited for her to speak again. "I am being truly honest. I am afraid I don't know what happened, but I really cannot remember a thing."

"Well do you remember your name, at least?" I asked.

She thought for a moment before she responded with "Kris,". She looked up past my shoulder quizzically. I turned to see what she was looking at, when my eyes met the surfing poster behind me. It read, "Croase's annual surf competition 2013".

"Why would you keep a fifty year old poster of a surf contest out?" Kris asked.

"Haha, very funny. They put that up last week for this year's surf competition." I responded, unsure of what she had meant by her remark. She looked at me, with innocent, confused eyes. "But, it's 2063, not 2013," she said.

"No, it's 2013" I insisted. Kris panicked a little.

"No! How can this be?! It is 2063! I live in 2063! Did I time travel? Is that possible?" she jumped up and put her hands to her head. I thought about what she was saying. It did not make sense. A girl, from the future? Yet she seemed insistent that she was so. She seemed hopeless and lost.

"I assure you, it really is 2013. But if you really think that you are from the future, I have heard of someone who may be able to help." I said. I walked with her up from the beach to the path that lead to town. We walked, silently, until Kris spoke again.

"You really think this person can help me?" She looked at me, waiting for an answer.

"I think so…I hope so." I said, sighing. " I have never actually met this person, but I hear he is very wise, and has explored far and wide. In fact, I have always wanted to ask him a question myself." I pulled out of my pocket a small rock with an odd inscription on it. Kris gazed at it with full wonder.

"What is that?" Kris reached out to hold it. Reluctantly I allowed her to do just that.

"I'm not sure. It could be junk, but when you look closely, you can see an inscription on it. I call it my Relic Fragment. I found it on the beach and have kept it ever since. I have wanted to ask about it, but-" I was interrupted by the presence of two unfriendly looking kids, much larger than Kris and I.

"Well Mike, we found something, didn't we?" One of the boys said.

"Yeah we did, Sam." He turned to face us. "Well, hello there! My name is Mike, and this here is Sam. We want no trouble, but we do want that rock in your hand. Looks like we could make some money off it." He grabbed my Relic Fragment from Kris' hand.

"Hey! That's my personal treasure! It means everything to me!" The brutes chuckled at my screams.

"Maybe we could make more money off this then we bargained for, eh, Sam?" Mike turned back to me. "Well, if it means that much to you, try and take it!"

I stood full of fear. I didn't move a muscle. They laughed harder.

"Not gonna make a move, eh? I didn't think you would be that much of a chicken! Well then, see ya wimps!" They ran into a cave on the beach that I had always avoided out of fear. I still couldn't move.

"I really am a chicken," I whispered. Kris looked at me, frowning. I turned to face her. "You must think so, too," I said.

"No, I don't. You are cautious, which is good. They were stronger than us anyway." Kris looked at me, slowly getting more serious. "But I can see it meant a lot to you, so I am going to help you get it."

I stared in shock. Was she serious? She appeared so. My eyes teared up, and Kris smiled. She took my hand, and we walked into the cave.

It was really dark in there. We walked in deeper, unsure of which way to tread. It seemed to be a one-way tunnel, leading nowhere. Yet I felt braver with Kris with me. For the first time, I felt like I could do anything. We walked, and walked. Eventually we saw a glimmer. We advanced towards the light, and there, in a circular room of rock stood the bullies. We hid behind a stalagmite. I observed that there was no roof to this part of the cave, and I could see stars. Was it already night? I ignored that for a moment, and looked at Kris.

"What can we do? How can we get my relic fragment back?" I asked. Kris whistled. I was a little angry at her foolishness until I heard the echoes of her whistling. They bounced off the walls and got louder, to the point where they were able to shake the walls and allow small rocks to break off. Mike and Sam looked surprised, and quickly ran out of the cave. They dropped the relic fragment, and we grabbed it. Oh, how good it felt to have it again!

I can't count anymore how many times I thanked Kris. I reminded her how I would never have gotten it back with out her. She just smiled and said nothing. We made our way to town.

"So, where is this 'really wise' guy anyway?" Kris finally spoke, curious and jokingly at the same time.

"He works at this place called the Guild. People join the guild and become explorers!" I slowed down; my excitement got the best of me. "I have always wanted to become an explorer, but I need a partner to explore with, since I'm so wimpy and all." I looked pleadingly at her. If I joined the guild with Kris, becoming the best explorer of all time would not be that hard. Kris sighed.

"Well, I can tell you want me to join the guild with you, but I want to find out about what happened to me." She looked sorry, and I tried to hide my sadness. I did not want her to feel guilty. "Wait-maybe if I joined the guild I could find out more about myself faster! Alright, I'll join you," she said, and I screamed and hugged her. I would finally get to join the guild! "But-" she started, and I could tell by how she spoke I was squeezing her in my hug so I released her, "-you still have not told me your name yet." I laughed, and said joyfully that I was Tina.


	2. Chapter 2

Not long after, Kris and I were at the gate entrance to the Guild. I shivered with anxiety. The entrance had a grid shape of poles on the ground. To enter, you had to step on the grid and wait for the sentry duty members to give you permission to enter. I was always afraid of it, but I knew now was not the time to back out. Now I had Kris with me!

"PERSON DETECTED. PERSON DETECTED." I was ready to shriek, I was so scared. I tried to hold it in, and waited.

"WHO IS IT?" This time the voice was different. I realized they were waiting for me to answer.

"Um, I am Tina, and I live here on Croase," I said with butterflies in my stomach.

"PERMISSION GRANTED." I was relieved. I stepped off, and waited for the gate to lift for me to enter.

"WAIT. YOU HAVE SOMEONE WITH YOU. SO GET THEM ON HERE SO I CAN SEE THEM." I looked at Kris. She stared back.

"I think they meant you, Kris," I said, motioning her up. She walked up.

"PERSON DETECTED. PERSON DETECTED."

"WHO IS IT?"

"I am friends with Tina," Kris said. I supposed that now we were friends, but still hearing her say it was the greatest thing to hear. That she considered us friends. Normally I have been the kid without friends, and when I did have friends, they did not appear to me as the real deal, like they only pretended to be my friend. But something told me that with Kris I had a chance.

"PERMISSION GRANTED. YOU BOTH MAY ENTER."

The gate was now fully open. We walked in.

The entrance was a small room with a ladder. Kris and I walked down the ladder to a much bigger room. This one was full of people talking and laughing. It felt good just to be in here. One man noticed us coming in the room and came our way.

"Well hello there? Who might you be?" The man's voice was loud but friendly. I smiled

"Hello! My name is Tina, and this is Kris!"

"How nice. My name is Mr. Chatosky. Now if you could just leave the premises….Shoo!" Mr. Chatosky made shooing gestures. I was shocked.

"What? W-why?" I had to speak my mind. How could we just leave?

"We do not accept journalists here," was Mr. Chatosky's response.

"We are not journalists! We want to become explorers!" I was getting louder and more serious.

"What?!" Mr. Chatosky turned away from us. I heard him speak. Was he talking to himself? I did not catch all of it, but I did hear him mention how weird it is of two kids training here, especially with the difficult training.

"Excuse me, sir, is the training actually that tough?"  
"What?" Mr. Chatosky realized that I could hear him. "No, not at all! Here, let's get you both registered. Come with me!" We followed him to a room lit by torches. told us that we were going to meet Mr. Waggletuff, the Guildmaster. He cautioned us to keep our voices down. I began to get nervous. Mr. Waggletuff stood with his back to us, staring at the wall.

"Mr. Waggletuff? We have two people who wish to join the guild!

Mr. Waggletuff….." Mr. Chatosky called out. made no answer. I began to think that he was not very friendly. I frowned. But then, he jumped around to face us…

"Hiya!" We all jumped out of surprise. was grinning widely.

"Um, Guildmaster, these two-" started.

"Yes, yes, I know, they wish to register. Okay!" seemed a little too happy. He began to…dance? Yes, he was dancing around! Kris and I looked at each other with relief that the Guildmaster was a friendly, good natured person. He pulled out a small chest and put it out in front of us.

"But first," The Guildmaster paused, "You two need to decide a team name!"

I had never thought about that. A team name? I had no ideas. I turned to Kris. She appeared equally puzzled.

Kris finally burst out, "Destiny," I thought about it. Destiny? There was more to the word than the sound. What did Kris mean by it? Was she thinking about her own destiny? I never gave it too much thought, but what had happened to Kris was really weird. She came from the future, and had no memory of it. She could not remember a thing! All she knew was her name. From then I decided to help Kris find out who she had been, and why all this had happened to her. And I started out with approving her choice in a team name.

"Good, good! Now, open this chest. Everything inside is yours!" Kris opened the chest. Inside were a bag and some items that supposedly help in exploring. Kris and I thanked the Guildmaster. He responded with smiles. Then Mr. Chatosky led us out of the room into a hallway. At the end was a room with two beds. I was excited. Our own room? I could not wait to begin exploring! I looked at Kris. Was she equally excited? Maybe not. She seemed only focused on getting her memory back. I understood that. I hoped she would find out soon. But if she did….would she stop exploring with me? I tried to push that aside as my eyes rolled over and I fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! For those of you who already know the story mine is based off, I apologize for the inaccuracies. This chapter was not my best...**

"WAKE UP!" I heard a roaring loud voice. I was beyond exhausted. I ignored the voice and rolled over to sleep again.

"I SAID WAKE UP! YOU ARE GOING TO BE REALLY LATE!" The voice was getting louder. My ears began to hurt.

"GET UP! YOU CAN'T JUST SLEEP IN! IS GOING TO BE FURIOUS!"

Mr. Chatosky… …the name was familiar. Suddenly it hit me.

"Kris! It's our first day and we are going to be late!" I was shocked. How dumb could I be to just forget? I jumped up. Kris did too, and we ran out of the room.

"ONE! DON'T SHIRK WORK!

TWO! RUN AWAY AND PAY!

THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES!"

I assumed that this was some morning protocol to shout out. Everyone stood in rows, calling this out. Then they were released to do their daily work. Before Kris and I had time to move, Mr. Chatosky walked over to us.

"Wandering off, eh? Well, I should give you two something to do. Come with me." He took us to a bulletin board. On the board were requests by townspeople. Mr. Chatosky asked us to fulfill a request. I was furious.

"We joined the Guild to explore, not to do little chores!" Kris seemed to not be as disheartened , but I seemed to have had surprised Mr. Chatosky.

"Well!" Mr. Chatosky was fuming. "You two are rookies, and are not ready for that sort of thing! We are preparing you for exploring! May I remind you that while you stay at the guild you will need to learn to do as you are told?"

I calmed down. It seemed he did have a point.

"Alright. This one comes from a fellow named Spoin. He asks us to find his prized pearl which he has left behind on a bluff. I think you two can do this!" Mr. Chatosky handed us a paper. Kris and I exited the Guild's doors and headed out in search of the pearl.

This seemed to be a really easy task. We had found the pearl before long. It was pink and shiny, and felt good to hold. I put it in our new treasure bag-It felt good to have something in there.

When we returned to the Guild, we found a man waiting for us. He addressed himself as Spoin, and we handed him the pearl. Spoin was delighted.

"Thank you very much! I must repay you!" Spoin pulled out a wad of money. He was giving us two-thousand dollars! For such a simple job! We thanked him repeatedly, but he said we were the ones to be thanked, and that the pearl was important to him. With that in mind, he walked off. Mr. Chatosky walked over to us.

"Well done! You did a job? Congrats! May I see the money?" I handed it to him. He took most and handed us a mere two hundred of the money. "I forgot to tell you, you only get one-tenth of your earnings. The rest helps to fund the Guild!" Mr. Chatosky walked off, leaving me irritated.

"I can't believe it…" I murmured.

We went to bed after dinner, which was easy because the job made us tired. The next morning, Kris and I joined in the morning chants. Like the day before, everyone left and Mr. Chatosky came over to us.

"Wandering off again, eh? Well, I should give you two something new to do. Come with me." We followed him towards a boy who appeared a bit older than us. He looked a bit nerdy yet eager and joyful.

"Rookies, I introduce to you Barry Bidowy. Barry, these two just joined our guild. Would you mind giving them a show around Treasure Town?" Barry looked excited to be given this job. I already knew my way around Treasure Town; the town just outside the Guild. I lived there before I met Kris, but I decided the opportunity would be good for Kris to see the town herself. So we followed Barry.

"I have to say, I am so excited yup yup! I have always wanted to have rookie members in this here Guild! Until you guys came, I was the newest rookie myself!" Barry led us up the ladder with full enthusiasm. We went out of the Guild and into town. Barry introduced us (or rather, Kris) to 's Bank, Marowa's Training Dojo, Miss Chance's Day Care, and more. Somewhat through the tour, we made a stop at the Keckle Brothers market. The brothers greeted us with friendliness, as did two little boys who were shopping there. They were really cute! Each shined at us the sweetest smile. They said their names were Marrie and Azul. They were doing errands for their mother, who was sick. How sweet! We had a nice conversation, and some ways through Barry told us to meet him back at the Guild when we were done. Marrie told us that they were going to look for a lost item, and they had found someone who was going to help them. The man they were speaking about came up just then and greeted the kids. He said his name was Mr. Drowsy. He spoke to us with friendliness. Then he excused himself, and while walking away he accidentally bumped into Kris. I didn't think he bumped into her that hard, but she closed her eyes and fell down on her knees. I got down on my own knees to see what happened, and she suddenly blinked her eyes and jumped up. She turned at Mr. Drowsy and glared at him. I was surprised, and confused. Kris began to explain.

"Tina, I don't think that Mr. Drowsy can be trusted," she said.

"What? Why?"

"Tina, I got a sudden headache and saw some sort of vision. I saw Mr. Drowsy threatening Azul!" Kris looked serious. I could not believe it. Mr. Drowsy seemed so nice! I insisted that Kris was just hallucinating, and that the weather was really hot to prove it. Kris didn't listen, though.

When we got back to the Guild, Barry was waiting.

"Well golly, you guys took a while to get here! Oh well, I want to show you something," he said. He led us to another bulletin board, not the one from yesterday. "This board lists outlaws that need to be taken to justice. Go ahead, pick one!" I was scared as usual. Were we ready for this? I looked at the different faces on the wanted signs. I noticed one looked familiar…

"Hey Kris…look at that one!" One poster stood in the middle, and the face on the poster belonged to ! Kris was right after all!


	4. Chapter 4

Naturally, Kris and I ran, poster in hand. We rushed to , where Kris had envisioned to have been. It was one of the scariest, most dangerous places I had ever been to, but we didn't have time to lose. I have to say though; did Drowsy take them to a place packed with shady characters and rough cliffs on purpose? If he did, he must have done a lot of planning to pick a place we would be to scared to reach the summit. Or did he have other things in mind? After all, why would he pick on kids as cute and as innocent as Marrie and Azul? In my deep thoughts I almost got careless enough as to nearly walk into some dark looking guy. Kris yanked me by my arm and we ran away from the guy. I tried to keep full focus on the road for the rest of the walk.

Soon enough I felt I couldn't take it anymore. We had covered nine stories of ground, and I was too tired to move another inch. My legs ached and my arms drooped. Kris was in an equal condition. Even if we did make it to the top, would we be able to even face Drowsy? I was beginning to worry. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to go out ourselves. We should have told someone with more experience….

"If you don't cooperate, bad things are in store for you!"

I looked up. Mr. Drowsy was standing not too far from us, with a crying Azul. He seemed angry. Kris and I hid behind rocks as to not be seen.

"Look, as I said before, all you need to do is go into that hole and bring out whatever treasure is inside there. Do that, and you can go back to you brother!"

Azul continued to cry. "Where is my brother, I want to go to him! I'm scared, I want my brother!"

I noticed that Marrie was nowhere to be seen. What happened to him? It was then I realized we had to hurry. I jumped from my hiding place and Kris followed.

"Hey YOU!" I thought if I shouted at Drowsy maybe I would look stronger. I got his attention, at least.

"Wha- Who are you? What do you think you're doing?!" Drowsy panicked a little.

"We are a fearless exploration team. We will destroy you! We will….." I couldn't take it anymore. I stepped back. I couldn't face him! Drowsy laughed.

"You're no exploration team! I bet you two are just rookies. Well I'll tell you, you made a mistake in challenging me. I have never lost! Many teams have given up trying to defeat me. You're next." He charged.

Kris and I split. Drowsy crashed into a wall and got some what dizzy. I sneaked up behind him and when he charged again, this time at Kris, I was able to trip him. He tumbled onto the ground. Kris, from standing where she was, threw a small rock. I was about to say how that couldn't help, when I saw it hitting a stalactite that was much too unstable. It began to wiggle. Kris threw another, at perfect aim. This time the stalactite fell, and Drowsy was the target. Drowsy fell for the third time, and this time, he did not get up again. Azul came running over. Kris picked Azul up, and I called the officials to take Drowsy away. Azul was reunited with his brother, and I have to say that it was pretty touching. They were both hugging and crying and Marrie repeatedly thanked us. We made sure they got home safely, then walked back to the Guild.

"Hello kids, its good to meet you at last. Chatosky told us the Guild had earned some new recruits. I must say I'm impressed," said the man in the suit. He came to the Guild and requested to speak with us!

"Mr. Drowsy has been an on-the-run criminal that we have been trying to catch for some time now. We would be surprised if a team with experience had caught him, so we were extremely impressed. We hope to continue working with you," He said, pulling out three-thousand dollars and handed them to Kris. He began to leave, then turned again.

"Oh, by the way, I am Magnes Zone, but you can call me Mr. Zone. And my assistant here is Mr. Mite. Good Day!"

Kris and I turned to Chatosky, who had been standing next to Mr. Zone. He seemed pleased as he took the money from Kris and handed back three hundred dollars.

"I am proud of you two. Your showing great progress! Keep it up!" Mr. Chatosky then went off for dinner.

That night I became acquainted with all of the Guild members, as they wanted to hear our story. I learned that our wake up call and sentry duty leader was Red, but everyone called him "loud" Red. His assistant was called "Little Dig" because he was an excellent digger like his father, who they called "Dug Trio" for his ability to dig three times as fast as the average digger. We had already met Barry, but he introduced himself again as well as his friends, Flora Sundale and her bestie, Clara who cooked dinner for us every day. Every one called her "Chime Echo" because when she called for dinner she sounded like she was echoing a chime. There was also Corp Fish, who loved water, Crow Gunk, an odd guy who was always meddling with some cauldron of his. I was happy that now, I had gained some friends. Perhaps joining the Guild was the right thing to do after all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry I did not update yesterday! Enjoy!**

The next day, I took to wondering about the vision Kris had. It didn't exactly make sense. I recalled the series of events. When Drowsy bumped into Kris it triggered some sort of vision. A vision where she was able to see into the future, what would happen to Azul and where he was. Is that possible?

Kris and I did nothing new for a week. We finished some simple requests, and, I have to say, I got bored of it. When would we get to do something exciting?

On the last day of that week I remember lying in bed, thinking, and more importantly, trying to sleep. Again, I was thinking about Kris, and her past. I turned to face her. She was shifting in her sleep. What was on her mind? If she did lose her memory, maybe the vision thing was just as much a surprise to her as it was to me. She must be scared and confused. I hoped she would find out her past soon enough.

"The Guildmaster and I have been reviewing your work since you registered. We believe it is time to give you something new!"

had called us early to speak with him. I wondered what he meant by something new, but was also excited. He continued.

"We want you two to look into a supposed myth. Legend has it that behind a waterfall on this island lies a secret cave. We want you to explore this myth and if it is real, explore the cave as well."

I couldn't believe my ears. We were finally getting to explore! My eyes watered as I jumped for joy. Mr. Chatosky smiled, a little.

"Yes, well now you two should get going. I expect you back before dark!"

Kris and I walked towards the waterfall described in the myth. It, from where we stood, really looked like a myth. It was just a waterfall! Nothing about it! I reached out to touch the waterfall. It was harsh! My hand shot downwards. I pulled back before I fell into the waterfall. I urged Kris to try and see if she would have any luck. She reached out her hand, and jumped back. I sighed. I didn't want to return without finding anything! I turned over to see if Kris was alright. She was on her knees, her eyes shut. Just like when she had that vision…

I sat by her, and slowly her eyes opened.

"Did you see something again?" Kris nodded.

"I think we need to jump into the waterfall," she said.

"What?! Jump into the waterfall? We'll be slammed into the rock and fall down! That's crazy!" Yet she looked pleadingly.

"….Okay. I believe you. But…are you sure? I'm a little scared," I said while helping her up. She smiled and took my hand.

"We'll jump together," she said. I don't know what happened, but being with Kris made me feel brave. I felt like I would be able to do it. I really felt sure!

Kris and I took a step back, closed our eyes, and ran. I felt myself tumbling. Did we make it? I opened my eyes. We were in some sort of cave. Then it hit me.

"Kris, you were right! We did it!" I was so happy. We began to explore the cave. The inside of the cave was remarkable, like nothing I have ever seen. Crystals glittered across the walls. I wanted to pick some up, to show the Guild, but then my gaze rested upon the largest gem. It was near my size! That huge? I couldn't believe my eyes. I could see Kris looked at the gem with equal fascination. I walked over to it. If we could bring this back, we would be viewed as heroes! I pulled on the gem, but it seemed stuck hard in the rock. I tried again before I let Kris have a go. No success. I kept pulling the gem, when I thought of an idea. Maybe the gem was a trick. Maybe it was supposed to be actually pushed! I pushed the gem, and heard a click.

"No!" Kris was shouting. I wondered what about. Then I heard a rumbling sound. I turned to see the source, when a flood of water came tumbling in our direction! I ran, as did Kris, but it overtook us and sent us shooting up like a geyser. We landed far from the cave. It looked like a hot spring.

"Well hello there, youngsters! What brings you to The Springs?"

I looked up. There was someone sitting at the tip of the spring. He was an old man, of maybe 50-60 years. He smiled at us.

"We were shot out of a cave and landed here!" The old man was surprised. He looked back to see the cave. I did too, but it was not in our eye sight. How far were we thrown? And where did the water come from? Kris came over to me.

"I'm sorry Tina," she said. "I am sorry I did not get to tell you in time. I had another vision."

"Another one? So soon?" The timings of Kris's visions made no sense to me.

"Yeah. I saw someone push the gem, just like you did. Then the water flooded the person. By the time I regained consciousness, I did not have a chance to warn you because you had already pushed on it."

Now it began to make sense. But who was the man?

"Wait," I panicked, "That means we did not actually discover the cave! Someone already had! Or was that in the future, like your first one?" Kris did not have an answer to that.

"But Tina, I think that the person in my vision was someone we know," Kris said. I could not believe it. Who could it be?

"I think it was Mr. Waggletuff," She said, as if reading my thoughts. Mr. Waggletuff? The Guildmaster?

"Well, you two should wash your fatigue off here. If your story is true, you must have had a hard day!" The old man had finally turned from searching for the cave back to the spring. We did just as he suggested. When we returned to the Guild, we found Mr. Chatosky waiting for our return.

"So? How did it go?"

We told him what we saw. He seemed very impressed. I was curious. If the Guildmaster had been there, Mr. Chatosky would have known. Was he lying to us?

" , we believe the Guildmaster has already been to the waterfall cave," Kris said.

"What?! The Guildmaster? No, that's crazy!" He sighed. "Okay, I'll ask him." He walked into Mr. Waggletuff's room. After some time, he came back.

"I asked the Guildmaster, and he responded with,

'Ah memories! Sweet Memories!' and a dance.

So to answer your question, yes he has gone to the cave. But still! Your find was extremely marvelous! I congratulate you!"

Needless to say, dinner that night was not very satisfying and I felt awful.


	6. Chapter 6

**Again, sorry for lack of update!**

Not long after our first exploration (or rather, fake exploration), Kris and I were called into the Guildmaster's room. Mr. Chatosky was there as well.

"Well, you rookies have done some commendable work for the Guild! I, personally, am very impressed at what you have done with such little experience. This is why," Mr. Chatosky paused for a dramatic effect, "we are considering you two for our Guild expedition!"

Kris and I were confused. Guild expedition?

"Allow me to explain," said Mr. Chatosky, reading our thoughts. "The Guildmaster and I have come across a place with which even I have not the faintest idea about! And I am a living dictionary of our world! Anyway, we wish to explore it. But I will just remind you, we are _considering _you for the expedition. So don't get your hopes too high!" I was excited. Mr. Chatosky added that no one they knew had ever been to the top, unlike with the waterfall cave.

The following day we were awoken not only by "loud" Red, but by a unbelievably powerful stench. I grabbed my nose and clenched it tight. What was the cause of this terrible stench?

We walked out into the main hall. We shouted our morning chants and walked away. Kris and I looked for jobs to do on the request board. Suddenly the ladder shook. Two heavy looking boys walked down it. I saw, with displeasure, these boys were familiar to Kris and I. It was Sam and Mike, those rotten-headed bullies from before. I glared at them, as they looked around the room. When their gaze finally turned to us, their eyes widened and they walked in our direction.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't our chicken-headed friends from before!"

"How dare you call us chickens when you were the ones to flee from the cave?" I did not want to deal with these creeps.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about. Anyways, what are you doing here in the Guild? It is not the place for chickens like you," he replied, attempting to regain his "cool".

"We are training to become explorers," I said, before receiving a chuckle from both of them.

"Listen kid, can we talk?" One of them pushed me over so Kris wasn't able to hear. "Look, your friend may have a chance, but you really shouldn't try your luck. You are too timid to be an explorer. You would be better off working at Miss Chance's Day Care! It sounds safe enough for you, I think." I could not believe my ears. How dare they? I pushed them away from me.

"Well, with Kris and I together, you two didn't stand a chance! Besides, if I wasn't explorer-material like you say, then how am I on the consideration list for the Guild expedition?" I immediately doubted my decision for telling them about the expedition only seconds later, because they seemed widely interested in that subject. When they turned back to me, they snorted.

"We only backed out because we didn't have our leader with us. Speaking of which, I can smell him coming now!" I was confused. Smell him coming? Seconds later, I understood. The stench from that morning followed a man climbing down the stairs. This man was huge, with spray bottles strapped on his belt. He walked over to Kris.

"You chose to stand in MY way? Very well, you asked for it." He pulled out one of his spray bottles and fired at Kris. I could smell it from where I was standing, but I could tell Kris had it much worse having it fired directly at her. She fell down to the ground.

"Kris! Kris?" I began to shout. The man turned to me.

"You gonna move? Or should I give you the same treatment?" I gulped, and moved out of the way. The duo of annoyingness laughed.

"Boss! That was brilliant! Good one!" Mike said, while Sam kept laughing. I wanted to hit him, hard, but I worried their 'boss' would fire at me. I sighed. Maybe I was a chicken. They had hurt Kris, and I had just stood there watching it happen. My eyes began to water. I turned at Kris, who opened her eyes slowly. I ran over and hugged her.

"Thank goodness you're fine," I said, glaring at the smelly trio with tears in my eyes. They stood laughing.

"So, you boys found any jobs that could reel in the cash?"

"No, boss, but we found something better." They whispered in their boss's ear.

"Hmm...an expedition, eh? That does sound delicious. Come, now we plan." The leader turned to Kris and I.

"The name's . Remember it. You'll need to know it to shout at me when you're begging for mercy. He chuckled and walked off. I glared at him.

"Don't worry, Tina. He'll be the one apologizing to us in the end," Kris said, putting her hand on my shoulder. I wiped my tears away. Even if I was a chicken, Kris accepted me, and that was what mattered.


	7. Chapter 7

"THREE! SMILES GO FOR MILES!"

"That's the spirit!" Mr. Chatosky seemed happy today. "And now I have an announcement." Mr. Chatosky opened the door to Mr. Waggletuff's room, and three boys walked out. What a pleasure it was to see the foul-smelling (literally!) runts known as Mike, Sam, and Mr. Skunk.

"Ugh! What reeks?!" Flora and Clara pinched their noses tightly.

"By golly, it sure wasn't me!" Barry pinched his nose as well.

"Members of the Guild, may I introduce to you to our new friends! They will be our guests here in the Guild and will accompany us on our expedition!"

"The name is Team Skull. Remember it. Especially you two." Mr. Skunk pointed at us and laughed.

"Oh, so you've met! Great! That simplifies things," Mr. Chatosky said, smiling. By now everyone had their noses pinched.

"Doesn't Mr. Chatosky think anything stinks about this? Literally?" 'loud' Red whispered this, which was a surprise because we were only used to yelling from him. We all frowned and nodded.

"What is with you all? Come now! Lighten up!" Mr. Chatosky was no longer leaping for joy. He seemed furious. "I will not dismiss you until I see you all smiling!" All of us glared at Team Skull, then managed a smile. The day continued glumly.

At dinner, we all sat to eat, but since the only open seats were by Kris and I, we had to let Team Skull sit with us. I pinched my nose during the entire meal. Kris did the same. When dinner was over, Kris and I leaped from our seats and hurried to our room. I noticed that Team Skull did not move, however. They kept sitting and eying the perfect apples, Mr. Waggletuff's favorite food. I left, but with some wonder and worry.

The next morning Kris and I headed over the Request Board, when we were stopped by Mr. Chatosky.

"Well good morning to you both!" We returned the greeting. "I have a favor to ask of you to. You don't have anything to do today, correct." I said that was correct when I noticed that Mr. Chatosky was shifting from right to left and had hunched over his shoulders. "Good, good! In that case, would it be alright if you to went over to Apple Woods? The location should be on your map. See, someone ate all of the Guildmaster's perfect apples last night, and I need them to be restored, and fast. Or I will have to face the Guildmaster's wrath!" Mr. Chatosky shuddered. I instantly remembered from the night before how Team Skull had been eyeing the apples. They must have waited for everyone to leave so they could eat them all! I growled, before assuring Mr. Chatosky we would retrieve some apples. He seemed relieved.

Kris and I headed out for Apple Woods. The woods were vibrant and full of bright red apples. But, according to , we had to pick the large ones located at the heart of the forest. It took a great deal of walking, but given time, we made it to the core of the forest. There was a tall tree, with plenty of apples, and three heavy, sleeping boys. I took a step back. Team Skull? First they ate Mr. Waggletuff's supply, and now they had come for more?

"HEY! YOU BUFFOONS, GET OUT OF THE TREE!" My shouting worked. Mike and Sam woke up startled, and fell out of the tree, and Mr. Skunk climbed down overshadowing his pathetic assistants.

"Chaw-haw-haw! So you have chosen to get some apples? Here, allow me and my colleagues to help you!" He kicked the tree, and a few apples fell out. "There! Take them and skedaddle back to the Guild!" He chuckled. I did not move. Mr. Skull squinted his eyes.

"What, not going to take them? After I so nicely got them for you?"

"You are just waiting for us to step forward so you can pull some prank, aren't you?" Team Skull seemed shocked by my response.

"How, how did she know? Gosh, she is smarter than I expected." Mike and Sam looked pleadingly at their leader for a solution. Mr. Skunk laughed.

"Well, if you won't accept our kindness, at least accept this!" He pulled out his spray gun. Kris and I stepped back, but we were too late. We were enveloped in the stench of his gun, and fell to the ground.

"Tina, wake up!" I looked up to see Kris, helping me off the ground. I turned back to the tree. Team Skull was gone, and they had taken the apples with them.

"What? Kris, Mr. Chatosky expected us to return with the apples! What will we do now?" Kris sighed, and I realized we would have to try our luck and tell Mr. Chatosky the truth.

Two hours later, we learned that the truth was not enough.

"I refuse to listen!" Mr. Chatosky was angrier than I had ever seen him before. "First you fail to complete a mission, and now, you accuse our guests! I cannot think so lowly of you. Of course you will need to be punished. Let's see…well, I can only start by saying, no dinner for the both of you. Afterwards, you will accompany me to face the Guildmaster. It would not be fair otherwise! Now leave my sight!"

Kris and I could do nothing but stand back at watch everyone else eat. I could hear both of our stomachs grumbling, and there was nothing we could do about it. After everyone ate, Kris and I miserably followed Mr. Chatosky over to 's room.

"G-Guildmaster?" stammered. I wondered why he was so worried. The Guildmaster stood silently.

"Hiya! Friends, how are you? Friendly friends!" Mr. Waggletuff looked over happy, which was normal for him. "You got a perfect apple for me? Yay! Friendly friends!" With that, he began to dance.

"Um, Guildmaster, we have a problem. The rookies failed in their mission-"

"Oh, that's okay! We all make mistakes, but we learn from them! Then we get better!"

"N-no, Guildmaster, but that means we don't have any perfect apples," Mr. Chatosky cried.

"So, there are no more left?" began to tear up as well. Suddenly the walls began to shake. Kris and I jumped back.

"TAKE COVER!" Mr. Chatosky yelled. The ceiling began to shake, and small bits of rock fell. I shut my eyes. What was happening?

"Sorry to disturb you! We have brought a perfect apple!"

Everything came to a standstill. I opened my eyes to see Mr. Skunk hand the Guildmaster a perfect apple.

"Thankyou, friends!" Mr. Waggletuff happily accepted the apple, and Team Skull became victim to endless praise. Mr. Chatosky told us to leave the room. We did so, and he shortly followed.

"Look, you two. That was extremely risky. You need to thank and apologize to Team Skull."

"What?!" I shouted.

"Go and do as I said." Kris and I sighed as we did just that. Team Skull laughed in our faces. I was angry, and hungry. Kris and I went towards our beds, our heads drooping.

"Oh, and one more thing! You two- don't think you have a chance of being picked for the expedition now. I highly doubt it is even remotely possible now." Mr. Chatosky yelled after us.


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm soooooooo sorry about my lack of update! My laptop was broken and i just got it back! Enjoy!**

I woke up with a sharp pain in my stomach. My head was dizzy and I was beyond hungry. I got up for roll call and Kris followed, each of us with an uneasy feeling. We were hungry and hurt. Not only had we been embarrassed yesterday but we had also be told we could not be picked for the expedition. I felt awful.

"Alright everyone! Let's see another day of success!" Mr. Chatosky glared at Kris and I.

"Psst, psst!" I turned my head to see Flora, Clara, Barry, and Red all calling us over. Kris and I allowed ourselves to be led to our room. I was confused. What was going on?

"You brought it, right Red?" Flora runnaged through her bag. Red nodded and did the same. Both pulled out a small box. Inside…some food!

"Wha- how did you…..?" I was speechless. Clara giggled.

"We saw you two were not allowed to eat dinner last night. We all know how it feels to have to miss dinner, and we felt bad. But then Flora saw Barry pushing some food aside and not eating it. So we all copied him. Then when everyone left, we put the food into boxes. And now we are giving it to you! Eat up!"

I was beyond thrilled. I should have thanked them first, but I was too hungry. Kris and I dove into the boxes of food. We only stopped when the boxes were empty.

"Wow, I can thank you all enough. I feel revitalized!"

"Great Tina! We hoped this would help. We all need our strength and spirit if we want to get picked for the expedition!" I stopped smiling.

"Yeah, about that," I said, drooping my head. "Mr. Chatosky told us to keep our hopes low because we no longer had a chance of tagging along on the expedition." I looked up to see four sad faces. Finally Barry spoke again.

"Just because Mr. Chatosky says so does not mean you wont be picked! In the end, it's Mr. Waggletuff who decides. And he does not have a temper like Mr. Chatosky! There is no need to feel low. I am sure you both still have a chance!" I began to tear up.

"Thanks, guys. Even when we are feeling low, I know that I can count on you to bring a smile to our faces!"

We walked back out with smiles on our faces. Nothing could stop us now.

Days past until we met the day where Mr. Chatosky read the names of those picked for the expedition.

"I will now open the list. Let's see…well this is a surprise! Barry!" Barry seemed like he was about to burst.

"Golly, me? I can't believe it!" Mr. Chatosky smiled as he read on.

"Okay, Red, Crow, "Dug Trio", Flora, Clara, Corp, Team Skull….and that's it! This is our team for the expedition!" My head drooped. We were not going to be on the team after all. Kris, 'Little Dug', and I looked at each other. Each of us exchanged a look of disappointment.

"Wait, there's more! The Guildmaster has written on the back! "Little Dig", Kris, and Tina! Now that's it! Wait a minute," Mr. Chatosky began to panic. "G-Guildmaster?! That's everyone! Everyone is coming? Then what was the point in picking?"

"Well," Mr. Waggletuff smiled, " I was thinking how fun it would be if all my friends got to go, and I was so excited I couldn't sleep! This will be soo much fun!"

"Okay, to get to our first destination, we should get into teams. I will team you up. Keep with your team, and you'll be fine. Obviously the Guildmaster and I will go together." Mr. Waggletuff frowned.

"I have to be with Chatosky? Aww…that's boring." He folded his arms over his chest.

"Guildmaster, please don't be difficult,"

"…Meanie."

"Okay… next team! Flora, Red, "Dug Trio", and Clara," The named people exchanged glances and smiled. "Now, Corp, Crow, and "Little Dug will be a good team. And finally, Barry, Kris, and Tina!"

"Golly, I hope I don't keep you two behind!" Barry smiled nervously.

"No, Barry, we will the ones keeping you behind," I joked. Kris laughed.

"Well, if you're so sure that you'll be behind, then we should get a move on!" Mr. Chatosky headed for the ladder and we followed.

The first leg of the expedition was on the cliffs of a mountain. I pulled out my map from the treasure bag.

"All right guys! We need to reach the mouth of FoggyForest, where the Guild is setting up camp. Right now we are here," I said, pointing to a place on the map, "and FoggyForest is about five miles away. So we should pass through the cave in this mountain and trekMt. Horn tomorrow. Sound good?" Kris and Barry nodded.

"Good, then we should start walking before it gets dark."

"Right you are, Kris!" I smiled.

We walked for hours in the cave, which was unusually lit by a glow coming from the water. I was hungry, and I could tell my companions were too, by the continuous grumbles from their stomachs.

"Golly, I'm getting pretty tired," Barry mumbled.

"I am too-hey, what's that light over there?" I walked over to the light.

"Is that…?"

"Yes Barry, that's the exit!" Kris squealed as we ran to the exit.

When at last we had left the cave, we could see the sun set behind the rocks. Kris and I set up tents while Barry helped himself to some food I'd packed. I laughed as we joined him.

"Alright, guys, time to sleep!" We nestled into the sleeping bags and slept soundfully.


	9. Chapter 9

"Tina, WATCH OUT!"

I jumped out of my sleeping bag. A giant rock came tumbling down the mountainside.

"We better get across this mountain quickly if we don't want to be crushed by those rocks," Kris said, as we folded and packed our things.

"Kris is right. It looks like if we climb down that pass that might be the safest."

"Good plan Tina," Kris said, leading us down a thin but obstacle-free path. I could hear a soft grumble as we walked.

"Oh, no, could that be another rock?" I began to panic. Behind me, Barry was laughing.

"What could possibly be so funny?!" I snapped angrily.

"Oh, sorry, I was just laughing because that noise was my stomach," Barry said through giggles. I groaned.

"Lighten up, Tina! And I think we will be arriving at the camp very soon, we can eat then!" Sure enough, through a thick fog we could see tents set up in a large circle. We flew down the hill to wards where Mr. Chatosky and Mr. Waggletuff stood.

"Where on EARTH have you three been?!" Mr. Chatosky yelled as we came into view, which, due to the fog, meant right in front of him. "ALL of the others got here a long time ago!"

"Uh, sorry, but we-"

"I don't CARE! Just go and explore FoggyForest! If you find a way to get rid of the fog, or you find anything of interest, let us know!"

"Okay," I said, turning to Barry. "You wanna join us?"

"Um, well gee, I'd love to, but I'm really hungry right now. You can go on ahead without me."

I laughed. "Okay, if that's what you want. C'mon Kris, let's go." I began to walk, but Kris didn't follow.

"Kris? What gives?" Kris stood silently, staring into space.

"Hello? Earth to Kris?" My eyes stared straight into hers. Slowly her eyes blinked and she stared back.

"Oh, sorry, I, uh feel like I've been here," she whispered.

"Hmm…maybe you were here in the future?"

"Hey you two!" we turned to see the speaker coming our way. It was Flora.

"Hey, Flora!"

"I wanted to tell you guys what I found out! Apparently someone named U lives by a lake nearby hear with the power to erase someone's memory! But we haven't found a lake anywhere!"

"Really?" I turned to Kris. She looked back with the same thought in her mind. Could this "U" character have erased her memory?  
"Yeah! I'm going to tell Chatosky! See you two later!" we waved at Flora as she ran off. As soon as she was out of earshot, I turned to Kris.

"So, Kris, do you think-"

"That U took my memory?" Kris shrugged. "Maybe. But you have to remember, I came from the future! How does that work?"

"Oh yeah," I grinned sheepishly. "Uh, maybe you made it to the past, came here, lost your memory and somehow fell out on the beach?"

Kris laughed. "It's worth a try. Let's go and ask! After all, there should be some reason why this place looks so familiar."

I walked ahead of Kris, as she was taking her time trying to remember why the place was so familiar to her.

"Kris, come here! I see something!" In front of me lay an odd gem. It glowed a bright red. I picked it up. It was surprisingly warm to the touch.

"Huh, that's something you don't see everyday. Hey, put it in the treasure bag. We have to get to the lake Flora talked about!"

"Okay, let's go!"

* * *

FoggyForest certainly earned the name. We could scarcely make out each other's faces when we were right next to each other. We even got lost when we were hardly five feet from the other. I sighed.

"Uh, Kris?"

"We're lost again?"

"Think so. Hmm, what should we do?"

"What did we do last time?"

"I pulled out that gem and you followed the light coming off it."

"Okay, pull it out again."

I opened the treasure bag. On top of everything else was the red gem, still glowing. I pulled it out, and within a matter of seconds Kris was again at my side.

"This is getting ridiculous," Kris groaned.

"I just hope the end of this forest is near," I muttered back.

Luckily for me, my wish was bestowed. I could see an end to the fog.

"Kris, we actually did it!" I shouted, running in the direction of the clearing.

"We're finally out of the fog!" We laughed as we looked around. Odd enough, the clearing was surrounded by multiple waterfalls, with no lake or water source to supply them.

"Tina, look up!" I did as Kris told. I craned my head until I could see the top of a huge mass of land, supported by a spit of dirt that supposedly was a cave. Water spilled from the sides.

"Kris, I think we have found U's home," I whispered, still looking at the wonders of the lake.

"You certainly have. And now I must thank you for giving us the opportunity to claim the treasures! Chaw haw haw!" I didn't have to look down to see who was the owner of the voice.

It was Mr. Skunk and his annoying gang, the blasted Team Skull.


	10. Chapter 10

"Well, what were you expecting from us?" Mike snickered.

"What makes you think that there actually is treasure at the top?"

"Chaw haw haw! You're just afraid that we'll find it and you're hard work will have been for nothing. Well, I won't be fooled. And just to make sure you rats don't follow," he said, pulling out his spray gun. I gulped.

"Hahaaha! You're such a wimp!" I glared at the speaker, Sam. Mr. Skunk raised his gun towards us and placed his finger on the trigger. I backed up, before seeing an apple tumble in between us and Team Skull. This wasn't just any apple, however. I could tell it was a perfect apple!

"What the," Mr. Skunk started.

"NO MY PERFECT APPLE!" In the distance we could see someone running our way.

"M-Mr. Waggletuff?!" Mr. Skunk stepped back wards. The man was, indeed, Mr. Waggletuff.

"THERE YOU ARE YOU LITTLE!" Mr. Waggletuff grabbed the apple and sat down. "I was walking and this little apple ran away from me! How did it know I was gonna eat it?" He looked up. "My friends are here! Hello friends!" I could see Mr. Skunk tensing up.

"Uh, hello Guildmaster. We were just on our way-"

"What's the rush! Come on, let's have some fun! The guild members can explore!" He nodded to us. I grinned as Kris and I ran off. From the corner of my eye I could see Mr. Skunk was furious. I laughed.

…

"Kris, what's that?" Not far ahead was a large statue of a man I couldn't recognize.

"I have no idea Tina. But it looks like there's some inscription on the side!" Kris leaned over and touched the inscription. Immediately her expression turned bland and she shut her eyes.

"Kris? Are you alright?"

After some time she eventually opened her eyes. She turned to me and opened the treasure bag.

"Kris? What are you doing?" She pulled out the red gem.

"I had another vision," she whispered.

"Another one?! What happened?"

"I- I don't know. I heard a voice saying that we should put the drought stone in Groud's chest. I have a feeling that this statue is of Groud. I don't know who that is though, but the name is a bit familiar. Do you think this is the drought stone?" She held up the red gem. I shrugged.

"Well, there's a hole in the chest here. I'm going to try it." She inserted the gem into the hole. With a click and a large gust of wind, the fog began to disappear from the forest.

"Wow! This is incredible," we exclaimed in unison.

"I'll say!" We turned to see a grinning Corp. "This is really cool! So what are you two going to do now?"

"Um…try to get to that lake?" I pointed to the lake above us.

"Okay! I wish you the best of luck! As for me, I think I'll just inform Mr. Chatosky. See you two later!" With that he ran off.

"Tina, how are we going to get to the top?!" I frowned. Kris was right- there wasn't really a way.

"Uh, how about that cave? Think it leads to the top?"

"Only one way to find out," Kris shrugged as we walked over to the mouth of the cave.

….

"Kris, it's soo hot in here," I moaned yet again. The cave was boiling hot. I wiped sweat from my forehead.

"Tina, stop complaining." Kris said back.

"There is no end to this place! And to top it off, we don't even know if it will lead to any lake!" By this point I was shouting.

"T-Tina, l-look," Kris stammered, pointing at a very tall and beefy man. On closer inspection I could see that he looked just like the statue.

"WHO DARES COME HERE? YOU COME HERE, INTO MY TERRITORY, AND YOU EXPECT TO LEAVE? I, GROUD, WILL SHOW NO M ERCY!" I stepped back.

"W-we didn't mean to trespass sir! If we had known you lived here, we would never have come!"

"Oh?" this voice was different. Groud disappeared and in his place stood a short young man. "You seem like people who would not come to cause harm. If you like, I can take you to the lake." The man looked at our shocked faces and laughed. "That was not Groud himself. That was just a hologram! I use it to see if trespassers are innocent. If bad people knew what lay here, it would be very unsafe. My name's U, by the way." U led us to the lake.

"Wait," I paused, "you're U?"

"Yup!" U smiled.

"Is it true that you can erase the memories of others?"

"That is correct," U said quietly.

"Uh, U, I have another question. My friend Kris here has had her memories taken away. Would you have anything to do with it?" U turned around and looked carefully at Kris.

"I'm sorry, if I had taken your friend's memories I would at least be able to recognize her. And I don't. Besides, I can only erase the memories one has had here, and no more. So the loss of your friend's memories was not of my fault."

"Oh," I whispered, looking at Kris.

"Hey, are you two going to come or not?" I followed U to the lake. In the center was an object glowing a bright green.

"Hey, U, is that-"

"A time gear? Yes. That's why I have to keep this place guarded and hidden."

"A…time gear? What's that?" Kris had caught up with us.

"You don't know what a time gear is?!" I was shocked. Time gears were known by everyone!

"You forget I lost my memories," Kris smirked. "So, what are they?"

"Time Gears keep our world in check. They keep balance. If one was to be taken away from it's normal resting site, the parts of the world that it interferes with would…stop."

"What do you mean stop?"

"No time can flow there! The winds would come to a standstill, water would stay suspended in place, it would be like pressing the pause button on a movie, but instead of a movie, it's real life."

"You are correct. That is why I am guardian of this lake- to protect the Time Gear. I cannot let it be taken from this lake. I apologize, but I cannot allow you to return here. And you must promise me never to return here." U frowned. "I rarely get to meet folks who I can trust with this secret- that is why I erase the minds of those I cannot trust."

"TINA! KRIS!" I jumped at hearing my name. Rushing towards us was a large group of people, known to me as the Guild. I smiled.

"Huh? W-who are you?!" U panicked.

"It's okay, U. These are our friends. They would never take a time gear."

"You sure I shouldn't take their memories?"

"No, I think we can trust them."

"A new friend! Friendly friend, what's your name?" Mr. Waggletuff shook U's hand.

"My name is U. I guard the time gear here. But you mustn't tell a soul."

"Of course! A promise is a promise. We won't tell anyone!" Mr. Waggletuff turned to face the rest of the Guild, all of whom nodded fiercely.

"Thank you," U whispered. "I believe I can trust you."


	11. Chapter 11

After the meeting with U, we took a turnaround back to the Guild. Some of us were disappointed after not getting to bring anything back. Most of us, however, dealt with the result just fine. After all, seeing the lake was reward itself. Not long after, Mr. Chatosky called us all for a meeting.

"I-I h-have some v-very b-bad news," Mr. Chatosky stammered.

"Well then spit it OUT!" Everyone glared at Red then, who quickly shut up.

"T-there w-was a time gear s-stolen,"

"WHAT?!" Every one of us looked at Mr. Chatosky in shock.

"Was it the one that U was guarding?"

"No, Flora. The stolen time gear was from another area, a forest called Treeshroud Forest. But if a time gear has been stolen from one area, all others may be at risk. Anyway," Mr. Chatosky paused and sighed, "let us resume our day."

"One, don't shirk work," we mumbled. I wanted to be able to warn U, but he had warned us that if we returned he would have to take our memories from us. So what could we do? Leave U to be attacked and think we weren't to be trusted? I looked to see the faces of the others, all of equal misery. I noticed one of us was not in the crowd.

Little Dig.

"Kris, where's Little Dig?" Kris also began to look around. After some time she pointed to the sentry post. There sat Little Dig, who appeared occupied by someone's voice.

"Yes, okay! I'll tell the Guildmaster right away," shouted Little Dig. "Mr. Waggletuff, we have a visitor who wishes to speak with you! His name is Mr. Noir!"

Everyone gasped. Everyone but Kris and I.

"Uh, who is Mr. Noir?" Everyone turned to look at me with shock.

"You don't know Mr. Noir? _The_ Mr. Dusk Noir?!"

"Red, you ought to calm down. Dusk became famous almost overnight! It's not surprising that Tina and Kris don't know of him. He's rumored to know everything!"

"Really?" I was impressed. "Everything?"

"Yeah! I can't believe he's come here!"

"SHH! Look here he comes!" A large man with huge hands and a suit of gray and black entered the room. Everyone moved aside and allowed him to enter Mr. Waggletuff's room. We waited silently for him to come back out.

"Well, hello everyone! My name is Mr. Noir, but if you prefer you may call me by my first name, Dusk. I plan to stay here in Treasure Town for a while, so if you have the time I'd love to chat! But for now I am going to meet the other citizens of this fine town. So later would be wonderful!" I smiled. For a famous genius, he was really nice!

"Yes, you may speak with Mr. Noir, but if you please, do not embarrass us by asking him for autographs or anything of the sort!" Mr. Noir laughed at Mr. Chatosky's response.

"No, no! If it's autographs you wish for, I'm sure I can oblige!" Mr. Noir grinned until his eyes met Kris's. Immediately his gaze darkened and he frowned. After that he walked off.

"Kris, what was that?" My friend turned to me, confused.

"I don't know Tina. I don't know him! Does he know me?"

"It seems so. I would avoid him, but he seems so nice! And so wise! Besides, he isn't from the future! How could he know you? Maybe you look like someone you've seen before." Kris eased a little.

"Anyway! You all need to find jobs to busy yourselves with!"

"Umm…okay….well what should we do?"

"You two! Can you come here?"

"Okay Mr. Chatosky!" He seemed antsy all of a sudden.

"Can you two do me a favor?"

"Sure," I said confused.

"Can you ask the Keckle Brothers if they plan to stock Perfect Apples?"

"Perfect Apples?"

"Yes, I need them to replenish the Guild's stock."

"Okay. We'll ask the brothers."

"Thanks you two!"

We walked into the main streets of town. A small cluster of people stood about the Keckle Brothers' shop.

"I see. Interesting. A water float?" Mr. Noir scratched his chin.

"Yeah. Hey, look, it's Kris and Tina!" Everyone looked over at Kris and I.

"Well hello! What brings you here Team Destiny?" I smiled at Mr. Keckle.

"We have some to ask if you plan to stock Perfect Apples," I answered.

"Um, no. No we don't. Sorry!"

"No, no, it's fine!" I turned to walk away when Mr. Noir called out to us.

"I have heard from these brothers that you two saved little Azul when he was threatened by a thief. Is that correct?"

"Yeah!" Azul began to jump in the air. "They saved me and brought me back to Marie! They're my heroes!"

"That so? You two must be really great people to be a child's hero."

"It wasn't much! Besides, you are everyone's hero Mr. Noir!" He smiled.

"Well, I have a question. When you saved the twins were they in pursuit of their Water Float?" I nodded.

"Well, it appears they are still looking for it. Isn't that right?"

"Yeah," Azul frowned.

"Well, we will keep an eye out for it! I'll tell Mr. Chatosky you don't plan to stock Perfect Apples. Have a good day everyone!"

* * *

"Ah," Mr. Chatosky frowned miserably.

"We could go and get some from Apple Woods," I offered.

"What?! And go through all that again? No WAY!" He sighed. "You two are dismissed."

"Uh, okay. Good night Mr. Chatosky," I called as we headed for bed.

* * *

"GET UP! YOU TWO BETTER HURRY! MR. NOIR IS IN THE HALL! HE CAME TO DELIVER A MESSAGE!" I shot up. What did Mr. Noir have to say?

* * *

"Yes, thank you Mr. Chatosky." Mr. Noir turned from speaking to Mr. Chatosky and Mr. Waggletuff when he saw the last of us enter the main hall. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I have bad news for you all. A second time gear…has been stolen."

"WHAT?!"

"Yes. Officer Magnes and his crew are on the lookout for a possible thief. For now, there is not much we can do but stand aside and let them do their job. I wish you all a good day." We waved as Mr. Noir walked off.

"You heard Mr. Noir. Go on and do whatever, but do NOT interfere with the officer's search. This may be our only chance of the thief being found."

"What should we do, Kris?"

"Um, maybe we could-"

"YOU TWO! YOU'VE GOT A VISITOR!" Little Dig caught up with us.

"Us? _We _have a visitor?" I was surprised. Who would want to visit us?

"Well, go on! They're outside."

"Okay, thanks!"

We opened the gate, and two little kids burst inside.

"Oh, Tina! Oh, Kris!" As they ran in for a hug I realized they were Marrie and Azul.

"Stop crying you two! What happened?"


	12. Chapter 12

"Read this," sniffled Marie. I took the note from his hand.

_To Whom It May Concern:_

_We have the Water Float in our possession. Just try to take it from us! We have it in Amp Plains. Can't handle it? Go and cry to your big shot friends! CHAW HAW HAW!_

"Oh no! It's a ransom! You guys, promise me you won't go there!"

"I did," mumbled Marie staring down at his feet. "But it was so scary! Electricity jolts everywhere! I couldn't do it!"

"Don't worry! You leave it to Kris and me, alright?" Marie slowly nodded.

"Th-thank you team Destiny," Azul stammered.

"You're welcome! And we'll get it for you! So no more tears!"

"Bye team Destiny! Thanks again!" Marie and Azul waved to us.

"I can't believe someone would threaten little kids like them! I'll show them!"

"Well then let's get going Tina!" I laughed as I followed her down the path extending out of Treasure Town.

* * *

"Kris, I'm so tired."

"Come on! Look, I think that's Amp Plains!"

She was right. Up ahead were plains surrounded by pillars releasing electricity.

"Gee, we better be careful," I whispered, crouching down. Much of the walk we were on our knees.

* * *

"KRIS!" Kris grabbed her arm.

"Kris, are you alright? Did that bolt strike you?" she released her arm and showed it to me. Her elbow was singed.

"I..I'm fine. Don't worry." I helped her up.

"Look, there's the clearing. Then we can get out of here!" Kris smiled weakly.

"Oh Kris, you really are hurt. Here," I said while searching through the bag. "This medicine might help! It's called Burn Heal." I pulled out the Burn Heal and rubbed the cream on her arm.

"That feels a lot better. Thanks. Hey, is that the Water Float?" I looked out to where Kris was pointing. Far, hardly seeable from where I was, rested some tiny blue item which shone in the light.

"Think so. Let's get it!" I raced towards the object.

"WHO DARES TRESPASS ON OUR TERRITORY?!" I stopped all movement. The voice continued.

"THOSE WHO HAVE COME HERE SHALL NOT RETURN TO THEIR HOMES. BRACE YOURSELVES!" out of the crevices popped crowds of people. Within the minute we were helplessly outnumbered.

"W-who are you?"

"WHO ARE WE? WE ARE THE LUX RAY TRIBE, THE RESIDENTS OF AMP PLAINS. AND ANY WHO TRESSPASS WILL DIE!"

"B-but, we came on a favor of a friend! We didn't mean to trespass!" I stepped closer to Kris, full of fear.

"I DON'T BELIVE YOU! FORCES ATTACK!" I closed my eyes shut. Was this... the end?

"STOP! THEY SPEAK THE TRUTH!"

I opened my eyes quickly. I recognized the voice! Was that…Mr. Noir?

"WHO ARE YOU?"

"I AM NOIR. DUSK NOIR." Mr. Noir calmed down a bit. "Look, members of the Lux Ray tribe, I understand you have had troubles in the past."

"HOW HAVE YOU COME ACROSS OUR HISTORY?!" Mr. Noir ignored him.

"You have been driven out of your homes many times, and so you have become protective of your home. I understand. It was wrong of these kids to come here. But they truly meant no harm! They have been tricked. Please spare them." I was surprised. How did he know about these people?

"You seem to know much about us, Noir. I will leave for now. But if any of you remain when I return, I will strike."

"Understood. Thank you." The Lux Ray tribe left us. I sighed relief.

"Thanks Mr. Noir! You saved our lives!" He wasn't paying attention though.

"ALRIGHT, COME ON OUT. I WANT TO SEE WHICH RATS TRIED TO SEND THESE TWO TO THEIR DEATH." From behind one of the rocks came out Mr. Skunk, with Max and Sam closely following. I jumped.

"WHY YOU LITTLE, YOU ARE SOO GOING TO GET IT!" I ran after them, but Mr. Noir grabbed my shirt and kept me back. Team Skull laughed.

"Chaw haw haw! You're saying you didn't expect it? After you humiliated us on the expedition? We had to get revenge."

"By killing them? If you're going to get revenge on them you'll have to get through me."

"Well, if it was just the wimps, sure I'd beat 'em up good, but not you Mr. Noir. We don't stand a chance against you. So we're going skedaddle! Ta- ta!" they sped past us out of sight.

Mr. Noir growled. "Cowards," he spat. "Anyway, are you two alright?"

I smiled. "Now that you're here, yeah."

"Good. I heard from Azul and Marie that you two had headed off to Amp Plains, so I came running. I'm sorry you were tricked. Now, let's get that Water Float and leave."

* * *

"Amazing! Incredible! You've done it again!" I smiled at the Keckle Brothers.

"Yeah, thank you so much Team Destiny!" We hugged the brothers.

"I am really impressed! You two have saved them not once, but twice! You really are super! Like how you pinpointed Azul's location when he was in trouble!"

"About that…" I looked over at Kris, who nodded. "We didn't just pinpoint it. Kris saw it in a dream."

"A dream you say? By dream, what do you mean?" this was the first thing Mr. Noir had said since the rescue. I had an idea.

"Hey, that's right! Kris, is it okay if we tell Mr. Noir about your dreams? Maybe he will understand them!"

"You're right!"

"Hey Mr. Noir, can we ask you something?"

"Alright. What is it?"


	13. Chapter 13

"M-Mr. Noir? You haven't said anything in a while." Mr. Noir shook his head.

"No, no! I have been listening to what you just told me, and trying to make sense of it. So, let me recap: Our friend here wound up unconscious on the beach, with no memories and claims to be from the future?"

"Yes, that's what we know. Would you know why?"

"No, unfortunately, I have no clue. I have been known for knowing everything, but that is an overstatement. I can tell you that our friend has an ability called the Dimensional Scream, which allows her to see these visions, but that's it. Still," he turned to face Kris, "your name, you said you know your name, at least? And that name would be?"

"My name is Kris," she replied. Mr. Noir made a face.

"D-does that name mean anything to you sir?"

"No. It means nothing to me, unfortunately." I sighed. We tried, that was all we could do.

"Golly, it's good we found you all! Officer Zone has some important news! They've identified the time gear thief!" Barry bursted while catching his breath.

"Really? Lead the way Barry!"

"Gosh Tina, give me a second," he said, taking large breaths. "Okay, let's go!"

We ran in the direction of the Guild, not pausing for a second. Who was the thief? With that thought in mind I ran ahead of the rest.

"Tina!" Kris laughed as she caught up with me.

* * *

"Officer? You know who is the thief?"

"If you give me a second to paste up his wanted poster, you will too." I stayed silent after his response. He took a sheet of paper from his lieutenant and posted it on the Outlaw board.

"There," he said, as we clustered around the poster. There was a picture of a scowling man in green under the words "Wanted: The Vyle."

"The Vyle?"

"Must be his nickname."

"Well he looks scary, that's for sure!" I hadn't noticed, but the rest of the Guild had crowded around the poster as well.

"Agreed. Now, Mr. Noir, if I may, can I work on a strategy with you? I feel like your intelligence and my expertise will work out excellently."

"Of course, Officer. I'd be happy to." Mr. Noir followed Officer Zone out of the room. Mr. Chatosky took the opportunity to speak.

"Alright, everyone! I am going to offer my knowledge as well to the goal of finding The Vyle! The rest of you can go to dinner!" Mr. Chatosky ran out of the room. I laughed as we followed Clara to the Mess Hall.

* * *

"Okay! Here comes our plan!"

It was morning. We all stood in the Main Hall with Mr. Chatosky and Mr. Noir. According to Red, they had prepared a plan to find The Vyle, and wanted the Guild's assistance. I was excited, despite my violent quivering.

"So, we have talked, and Mr. Noir and I have come with the most probable places time gears might be. We want you to explore these places! Flora, Barry, and Dug Trio, I am sending you to CrystalCave."

"Ooh, sounds pretty!" Flora did her little happy dance as Mr. Chatosky continued.

"Red, Crow, and Corp will explore EasternForest."

"Alright! We'll get it done!" The three high fived.

"Team Destiny will go to the NorthernDesert. For now, this is all."

"But, what about me?" Everyone turned to see Little Dig pouting.

"Oh, Little Dig, our jobs are important! You have your sentry post, while I have dinner to prepare! We need to stay behind to make sure these tasks get done." Little Dig sighed as he nodded. I felt sorry for him; he had seemed pretty hyped about going.

"Alright! Go out and find The Vyle!"

* * *

Northern Desert was the home of a vicious sandstorm. A nonending one at that. We trekked the sandy terrain, hoping the sand wouldn't get in our mouths. We were barely keeping it out of our eyes.

"Kris….peh!" I spit out the sand that had caught in my mouth. We have been out here for hours and we've seen nothing but sand! Sand and quicksand!"

"What, you think we should just give up?" I could hear her hacking out sand as well even though I couldn't see through the sandstorm.

"Kris, I have to say yes. The only thing peculiar was that circular form of quicksand, and still, that's just sand! So can we go?" Kris sighed.

"Fine. We'll go. But Mr. Chatosky won't be happy.

* * *

"WHAT? YOU FOUND NOTHING?"

"Told you," Kris whispered in my ear. I giggled.

"Ugh, this is bad! All of the teams returned with nothing! Were our guesses wrong?"

"What? All the teams found nothing?"

"Yes! Anyway, go eat dinner. We will devise a new plan in the morning."

* * *

"Tina," Kris whispered as I fell on my bed.

"Yes?"

"What do you think will happen if all the Time Gears are stolen?"

I thought about it. It had never happened before, so we never really knew. "I don't know Kris, but if we don't stop that thief we will find out very soon. What bugs me though is that I don't understand why anyone would even steal one in the first place!"

"Me neither," Kris mumbled.

"Kris? Hey Kris!" She had fallen asleep. I laughed. "Okay Kris, good night."

* * *

"We still don't have a new plan. Explore wherever you want." Mr. Chatosky turned back to Mr. Noir.

"Uh, okay. Kris, where do you think we should go?" Kris pondered for a moment.

"The quicksand pit from yesterday."

"What?! W-why?"

"Well, you asked me where we should go, and I answered. Come on!" I groaned as I followed her out of the Guild and back on the path leading to the desert. When we had finally arrived at the quicksand pit, I glared at my partner.

"What now?" Kris kneeled down and put her hand on the quicksand.

"Kris be careful!" She tensed up, and her arm began to sink. I pulled her out, but she appeared stiff. When she came to, she jumped up.

"Dimensional Scream?" I guessed.

"Yup. You're not going to believe me, but we have to jump in."

"You're crazy. I am NOT jumping in! What if there's nothing there? Shoot, why would there be anything there?!"

Kris pouted, then whispered, "WaterfallCave,"

"WaterfallCave? Oh," I thought back to our first exploration. I had said the same thing that time too. But there was a cave there that time. Kris had been right. I smiled and nodded.

"Okay, Kris! I trust you! Let's go!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys!**

**Here is another chapter of this story, but I wanted to ask something of you all first. If this story has 300 views, then it has to have s****_ome _****viewers. So can you please review so I know what you think? I'd really like to know what you all think! That will help me to write better!**

**Also, Eid Mubarak to any celebrators! **

"AAAAHHH!" I fell down, hitting my back on cold stone. I rubbed my back as I scanned the area for Kris. Wait... if we were in a cave and not engulfed in sand, then…

"Kris, you were right! There really is a hidden cave here!" I frowned. "Sorry, I shouldn't have doubted you." I looked down at my feet. Kris laughed.

"I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't seen the vision! Come on, let's explore!"

The Quicksand Cave was a lot unlike the Desert above. Here it was cold, wet, and to my relief, free of sandstorms. However, much to my dismay, it appeared unending. I could only see more and more cave.

Eventually, after a couple hours, I could see a faded green glimmer.

"Kris? Can you see that?"

"Yup. Let's follow!" We walked outwards in the direction of the light. Eventually we came across a lake.

"Huh, that's odd. A lake under a desert."

"No matter! Check that out!" Kris pointed to the center. Glowing green and hovering above the water was an object who's sight I had seen before.

"Kris, isn't that a time gear?"

"Looks like it! We better tell Mr. Chatosky and the others!"

"WHO DARES COME HERE?" I gulped. This seemed all too familiar.

"I AM MELODY. I AM GUARDIAN OF THIS PLACE. AND ANY WHO DARE COME HERE WILL MEET THEIR END." Melody stomped into view, eyes full of rage.

"But, we didn't mean any harm!"

"DON'T PLAY COY WITH ME! U TOLD ME THAT HE HAD HIS TIME GEAR STOLEN! WELL YOU WON'T GET THIS ONE!"

"W-what? You know U?"

"OF COURSE! YOU THINK I WOULDN'T KNOW MY BROTHER? HE CONFIDES IN ME FOR EVERYTHING, LIKE WHEN YOU STOLE THE TIME GEAR!"

"Wha-we didn't steal the time gear!"

"OF COURSE YOU DID! IF NOT YOU, THEN WHO DID?"

"That…would be me."

Everyone shifted their gaze to the approaching figure. As it approached, we could tell it was a man wearing a suit of green. Where had I seen that before?

"Wait! Y-y-you're The V-Vyle?!" I jumped back, as did the other two with me.

"Yes, that is me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to take that time gear!"

"NO WAY!" Without thinking I stood in his way, shielding him from accessing the lake.

"Then you leave me with no choice. Forgive me." He pushed me aside, and I slammed into the wall.

"TINA! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!" Kris slapped the Vyle in the face. "You bully!" the Vyle raised his hand to strike her, but instead widened his eyes. Kris pushed him aside and ran over to me.

"I…I'm fine. Gosh, how are you so brave?" Kris grinned.

"You, you were the brave one Tina. I just did what I had to. After all, I can't stand seeing you hurt." A tear fell from Kris's eye.

"YOU TWO! WHILE YOU WERE GETTING ALL EMOTIONAL, THAT THIEF TOOK OFF WITH THE TIME GEAR!"

Melody was right. The Time Gear was missing, and so was the Vyle.

"Well, what should we do?"

"I'LL TELL YOU! RUN UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE TRAPPED IN TIME!"

We followed Melody out of the cave, with darkness shrouding what was behind us. My feet began to get sore, but I endured it as I ran faster.

* * *

"You...you saw the Vyle?!" Everyone from the Guild had crowded around us to hear of the events from the NorthernDesert.

"Yeah, but he got away. _With _the Time Gear." I looked down embarrassedly at my feet.

"Tina," I looked up to see Flora looking at me. "It's not your fault the thief got away. According to what Kris said, he had sent you flying against the wall? I don't think any of us could blame you or Kris for Vyle's escape."

"I agree with Flora."

"Same. Both Kris and Tina were very brave." I smiled as everyone praised us. Then Mr. Noir stepped forward.

"Flora took the words out of my mouth. As did the rest of you. Great Job, Kris and Tina. Now is the time to discuss the next course of action. The Vyle already has three Time Gears. There are two time gears left. We cannot leave them to be stolen. So…what can we do?"

"Well," started Kris, "You suggested NorthernDesert, and after looking a second time we had found the Time Gear. Could the other places you suggested have time gears as well?"

Mr. Noir smiled. "That makes sense. But we can't waste time! We have to be certain something is there!"

"I know something that was there," muttered Barry. "Crystals. Lots of them. I even helped myself to one!"

"What was that Barry? You have a crystal?" Mr. Noir seemed interested.

"Uh…yeah?"

"Excellent! May I see it?"

"W-why?"

Mr. Noir sighed. "I would like to have Kris touch it."

"Touch it? What on Earth for?"

I caught on. "Kris has a special ability that allows her to see a vision based on something she touches! If there is a Time Gear there, maybe the crystal would trigger a vision!"

"Woah, really! That is AWESOME!" As usual, Loud Red's voice blared in my ears. Everyone looked pleadingly at Barry. He sighed.

"Well, I guess you can use it then…" he pulled a small crystal out of his pocket and handed it to Kris. She accepted it, but when she touched the crystal with her fingers she froze. Seconds later, her eyes opened wide in shock.

"I…I saw a vision."

"Yes…what about?" Mr. Noir seemed impatient.

"There was a man there, who looked clearly injured, saying something like, "You will never steal the Time Gear," and I saw the Vyle there too!"

"What?!" I turned to Mr. Noir.

"I see. So my assumption was correct. Then we will need to take action. We need to go to Crystal Cave, everyone! We have to stop the Vile!"

**Last thing before you all get fed up with me, thanks for viewing my stories! I got 150+ views! For me, that's a lot! So thankyou!**


	15. Chapter 15

"Tina, all set?" I nodded.

"Good! Let's go to Crystal Cave!"

Like Barry had said, Crystal Cave was primarily made of crystals. I would assume someone would by now have demolished the site for money, but luckily for me there was a Time Gear at the end, and it needed to remain hidden. For the first time in a while, this cave appeared short. We reached a dead end very fast.

"Hm…Kris what should we do?" I leaned up against a tall pillar-like crystal. Before my eyes it changed from the color blue to the color purple.

"Huh? What happened?"

"Don't know, maybe you should see if the Dimensional Scream would work here,"

"Okay," she whispered as a cold breath of air flew from her mouth. I hadn't noticed, but it was really cold in the cave.

"Hmm…seems like it changes color when you change it…."

"Kris…are you having a vision?" When she didn't respond, I smiled.

"Guess so," I shrugged. I waited for her vision to be over. Slowly she began to traverse the room we were in, tapping on each crystal pillar. When she was done, all the pilliars were glowing blue.

"Kris, what did you do?"

"Uh, I-" she was interrupted by a terrible tremor. The tips of the pillars crackled with electricity, and met at the middle.

"KRIS, GET BACK!" I pulled her behind me. In the center a large pillar began to form as a result of the merging electricity. Once formed, I could tell there was a hole in the center giving way to a case of hidden stairs.

"Do we go…?" Kris nodded.

We made our way down the steps, the temperature decreasing as we got lower and lower. By the time we reached the bottom, both Kris and I were shivering.

"H-hey…K-Kris," I chattered. "D-Do you s-see that?" I pointed out in the distance where a faint silhouette- no two faint silhouettes were about a lake.

"Let's g-go have a l-look!" I ran beside her, slowly warming up with the exercise.

"N-No, you'll never get the Time Gear," I heard muffled through the voice of an unfamiliar face. Beside the victim stood the Vyle.

"Hah! Don't make me laugh. You lost. Don't strain yourself trying to beat me when you can't." the Vyle turned in our direction. His eyes widened.

"YOU TWO?! AGAIN?"

"You aren't getting away this time Vyle!" I helped the beaten up man stand up. Kris searched the treasure bag for medicine and focused on the guy.

"I did it last time, and I'll do it again! Don't tempt me!"

"No! Last time you won because I let Tina get hurt! That was my fault…" Tears streamed down my friends cheeks. "But not this time! This time you'll learn not to mess with us!" We ran up ahead of the Vyle and barricaded the lake with our outstretched arms. The Vyle narrowed his eyes.

"I will not be defeated like that. If you refuse to surrender and move from the lake, I will remove you by force. Nothing will stop me!" When we didn't move, he lunged forward and swiped at both of us, sending us flying. I jumped back up again and stood in front of him once more. When I turned to look at Kris I saw she was right beside me. I smiled.

"I warned you," Vyle growled, grabbing each of us by our shirts and hurling us. My vision began to blur, and most of the movement in my body was out. I dragged my self up once more.

"Tina, no! He could kill you!" Kris began to choke and slowly, with pain she closed her eyes. Her bruised arms and legs lay helplessly by her side.

"Kris," I whispered silently to my self. In pain I fell to my knees and closed my eyes, bracing myself for the Vyle's attack. I could hear his arms slicing through the air, and almost felt them striking my forehead.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" a voice boomed. Mr. Noir?

"Gah!" the Vyle jumped away from me. "N-Noir? You followed me here?"

"You have played you're games long enough Grover," Mr. Noir responded.

"Gro-WILL YOU STOP CALLING ME THAT?" Grover? Was that the Vyle's real name?

"Not a chance Grover. Step aside. You have no need for harming this kids."

"You are right, Noir. My fight belongs with you,"

"Really?" Mr. Noir laughed. "First you fought Zelf, then those two, and now me?"

"Of course. When you're ready Noir!" I blinked my eyes to see the Vyle standing meters away from Mr. Noir who prepared a punch. When he fired, a bright flash of light illuminated the cavern we sat in.

"Clever, Grover," whispered Mr. Noir when the light disappeared. I could see that Grover was gone. "You never meant to battle at all, did you?" Mr. Noir stomped off angrily. By that point I had had enough. I fell down, my face planted on the floor, my eyes closing as my mind drifted off….

* * *

"Tina? TINA, YOU'RE AWAKE! EVERYONE, TINA'S FINALLY AWAKE!" Before I could react to Flora's face hovering inches above mine, my bed was surrounded

"GREAT TINA! WE WERE REALLY WORRIED!"

"Yeah! Kris woke up a while ago, but when you didn't we began to get scared."

"Oh yeah! Where is Kris?" I jumped up, then realized she was sitting right in front of me on the bed. She laughed.

"Oh Tina, you're too funny," Kris croaked slightly. I could tell she was still in pain.

"Can someone explain what happened? I'm a little confused."

"Well," Clara cleared her throat, "by the time we had finally caught up to you two, you were lying helplessly on the ground. So was another fellow named Zelf."

"Oh, the other guy was Zelf? Is he alright? When we saw him he was in bad shape."

"Yes, Tina, he was injured, but his pain was nothing to yours or Kris's."

"What about Mr. Noir?"

"Mr. Noir? We didn't see him."

"Well, I would like to ask him a question."

"You'll get the chance!" Mr. Chatosky burst into the room. "Mr. Noir wants to speak to the whole of Treasure Town!"


	16. Chapter 16

**This is personally a super thrilling part of the game for me! I hope I wrote it in a way the game deserved!**

"Mr. Noir!" I waved at the man in the center of the crowd. He smiled and waved back.

"Tina! I trust you are feeling better? I wished to visit you earlier but Kris informed me you were still asleep."

"Yeah, I'm feeling loads better Mr. Noir! Thanks for saving us!"

"No problem! I am always glad to be of assistance!"

"In that case," I whispered, "Can I ask a question? Did you know the Vyle from before?"

"That and more will be answered in my speech Tina! Listen for it!"

"Attention everyone! Mr. Noir has something important to share with us today! Please listen!" Everyone turned from their small conversations to face Officer Zone and Mr. Noir.

"Everyone! I have some news!" By now everyone was silent and attentive to Mr. Noir.

"The Time Gear from CrystalCave is safe!" The announcement received much applause.

"Now comes the next step. We know the Vyle will try to strike CrystalCave again to get the Time Gear, but this time we need a plan to catch him. Therefore, I suggest Zelf and his siblings go together to CrystalCave and attack the Vyle with a three-way attack."

Zelf had siblings? I looked over at him, standing amongst U and Melody. I didn't know he was their brother.

"I like your thinking Mr. Noir!" U smiled.

"I concur. The plan sounds good to me!"

"You two would leave your lakes to help me protect the Time Gear?" Zelf looked extremely pleased.

"Of course little brother! Besides, our Time Gears have been stolen, so we can't really guard them." U placed his hand on Zelf's shoulder with a broad smile on his face.

"Golly, this is really exciting! I want to come! I'll be the one to defeat the Vyle!" Barry began jumping in joy.

"No, I want to be the hero!"

I looked at Kris. "I want to get back at him for what he did to us!"

Soon enough, the entire assembly was telling one another how they wanted to help. Mr. Noir frowned.

"I apologize everyone, but I must plead you all to remain here for the present. If we all were to go, wouldn't the Vyle suspect something?"

The voices of other quieted down. Sad as it was, we knew Mr. Noir was right.

"Hey hey," mumbled Corp. "Mr. Noir, I have a question. You are just so wise, it just isn't possible anyone could be_ that_ wise. Where did you get all that knowledge?"

Corp was right. We hadn't really questioned it before, but where _did _Mr. Noir learn all he knew?

"Corp, you are very right." Mr. Noir sighed. "I understand your confusion. I have an answer, and I feel I should have told you all the answer before. Tina, earlier you asked me if I knew the Vyle from before all this, correct?" I nodded. "The honest truth is, yes. Yes I did. In fact, not only do I know him, but I know that he is from the future." My shocked eyes turned to Kris, who returned the shock. "And yes, that means that I, too, am from the future."

"M-Mr. Noir? Y-you're from the future? Why didn't you tell us before?"

"I apologize Chatosky. And to the rest of you as well. But think. Had I told you before, would you have believed me? I think by this point we have built an understanding towards each other, so I chose not to tell you all before."

"I guess that makes sense. But then why have you come from the future?"

"The Vyle, in the future is an outlaw. The coward fled to the past and chose to destroy time here, like in the future. He planned to steal all five time gears. That of course would send the world into paralysis."

"What do you mean, the world would be sent into paralysis?"

"In a planet without time…winds never blow…the sun never rises…it's a place in perpetual darkness. It would be no exaggeration to call it the complete ruin of the world."

"Really? That's what would happen if all the Time Gears were stolen?"

"Yes, Tina. That is why we cannot let the Vyle continue stealing them. I intend to capture him and take him back to the future. But I really must insist that aside from the LakeGuardians, no one must accompany me. This is our only chance."

"Alright Guild!" Mr. Chatosky cleared his throat. "Before we were helping Mr. Noir! But now plans have changed. This time, stay out of it!"

"YES SIR!"

* * *

Day in and day out, we waited for news from Mr. Noir, U, Melody, or Zelf. None came to us. We waited in suspense for three days. On the third, we were getting restless and worried.

"No, we have no news about the capture just yet. We will just have to continue our day!"

Everyone groaned.

"Come, now, I'm sure-"

"Mr. Chatosky, Mr. Chatosky!" Little Dig ran up to Mr. Chatosky, catching his breath. "The Vyle has been caught! Mr. Noir's about to take him to the future in some sort of time travel!"

* * *

We ran out onto the streets of Treasure Town. Mr. Noir stood in the town center, an odd blue light glowing behind him. Was that the time travel device? I assumed so. Slouched over with his arms tied back and his mouth gagged was the Vyle, his eyes showing pain and defeat.

"Mr. Noir! You did it!"

"Great Job Mr. Noir!"

"Wow, this guy sure looks tough!"

"It's great he was captured."

"Yeah! The world was nearly ruined because of him."

"Everyone!" Mr. Noir's voice bellowed about the town. "The terrible outlaw Vyle…has been captured!"

"Yes!"

"Great Job!"

"Your world will now be safe, because this thieving scum," Mr. Noir pointed to the Vyle, "will be brought back to the future."

"Mmmf! Mmmmmmmfffff!" The Vyle panicked and began to fidget. Angry as I was with him, I felt bad for him for being gagged and unable to speak.

"Everyone, say goodbye to the Time Gear thief!" The Vyle was grabbed and thrown into the blue light. As soon as he came in contact with the light, he disappeared from our sight.

"And now, I give my own good byes." My eyes began to water. Mr. Noir, the man who had saved us thrice before, given us knowledge and been extremely kind, was leaving? "I apologize for not getting to stay here longer. I wish that I could. But I have work to take care of now that the Vyle has been caught. I will miss you all, as I have no intention of coming back."

"Mr. Noir!" Mr. Chatosky fell to his knees in tears. Mr. Noir formed a sad smile with his lips.

"Before I leave, there are two people who I wish to speak with. Kris and Tina, could you please step forward?" In surprise I walked over to the front.

"Mr. Noir, I will miss you so much! There was soo much I could've learned from you!" I wiped tears from my face.

"I guess this is goodbye…or is it?"

"Pardon me? What did you say?!"

"You two…are coming with me!" Mr. Noir grabbed our arms, and before I knew what was going on we were tumbling down an odd path surrounded in blue light, myself losing consciousness.


	17. Chapter 17

**I honestly think my last chapter could've been better. But I am pretty happy at how this one turned out! Enjoy!**

I opened my eyes to an unpleasant surprise. I was not in my cozy room at the Guild; I was in a cold, dark stone "room" instead. The room appeared to be carved into a giant rock, with large iron bars in the front. I tried my hand at opening them, with no luck. I sighed. I shouldn't have expected them to open so easily. But why were we locked up?

"Wha- where am I?" Kris jumped up.

"Kris, you're awake!" I smiled widely.

"Tina! What happened?"

"I…don't know. I remember dragging us into some blue light thingy. Wait a second," I paused and thought, "is this the future? We're really in the future?"

"I…I guess so," mumbled Kris.

"But…why would Mr. Noir bring us here?" Kris shrugged.

'Click'

The iron bars began to open. In came six men with wide, disturbing smiles.

"They're awake. What a coincidence." One of the men smirked. "Blind fold them."

Before I could properly react, my arms were grabbed and pinned behind my back and a blindfold was tied on my forehead.

"Wha-hey! Let us go!"

"Quiet!"

"Hey, quit pushing!"

"I said be quiet!"

I began to lose movement in my body. I wasn't numb, rather I felt like I was glued to a wall. When the blindfold was ripped off, I could see my assumption wasn't all that far-fetched.

"Hey-why am I all tied up?!"

"Tina! Are you alright?"

"Hey pal, you aren't hurt! Good." I grinned at my partner, tied to the pillar beside mine. In the corner of my eye I could see a third tied up figure. Once my eyes adjusted to the light change, I was able to recognize the guy…

"You two…do you have any inkling about where you are?" He questioned in a tone I hadn't heard from him before, one of pain.

"The Vyle?! Is that you?"

"I guess you have no idea what's about to happen, so you can act all nonchalant about it," he grumbled.

"No, we don't know. Enlighten us."

"This place; they plan to be rid of us for good."

"What?! You mean they're going to-"

"Yup. Those six right there? They are called the Sable Eyed. They do the dirty work around here."

"But, I can see why they'd want to get rid of you, but why us?"

"Hmmph!" The Vyle rolled his eyes. "You obviously did something they don't like."

I looked at the six men who had tied us up. They talked amongst each other, stopping only when a large pair of doors opened up.

"Gah! Lord Noir, sir!" In the room came Mr. Noir.

"Mr. Noir? It's me, Tina!"

"Sable eyed, do your thing. Pay them no mind, and don't let your eyes off them for a second. Especially that one." He pointed to the Vyle.

"What?! Mr. Noir, are you serious?"

"Ignore that! You two need to help me think of a way to escape!"

"Why should we help you?"

"Would you rather sit around for them?" I sighed, defeated. "Okay, listen up. These guys will attack with those sharp claws they call nails. What do you two propose we do to escape the attack? Do you have any ideas?" He looked at Kris then.

"Uh…we can't really attack, can we?"

"Hm…that could work! When you feel a break in the ropes, force open the weakened ropes and push them back!"

"Are you sure this will work, Vyle?"

"No, but we don't have a chance to try anything else." I knew he was right, so I didn't argue more.

The grinning six men charged. I shut my eyes as the ropes were fiercely slashed. Soon enough, I began to see a break in the ropes.

"You two! NOW!"

All at the same time, we charged out of the ropes and pushed the surprised Sable eyed to the ground.

"NO! DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE YOU FOOLS!" The voice of Mr. Noir roared in my ears.

We ran, faster than ever before. At least, I can speak for myself when I say that. My breath was quickly running out.

"Hey, can we please stop running? I can hardly see those guys from here!" I moaned, with my hands over my aching stomach.

"And let them catch up? Not a chance." I groaned. The Vyle was stubborn.

Before long I could see an exit. "There!"

"I see it! Let's go." Once outside, I breathed in the fresh air, and sat down leaning against a rock.

"Get up! What are you doing? We have to keep running!"

"No," I replied insistently. "I need to rest."

The Vyle sighed. "Fine, but at least can we rest in an area where we can be hidden?" I shrugged as I followed him once more behind a rock.

After some time, the Vyle leaped up.

"Alright, we need to move."

"Wait, hold on one second," I snapped. "Before we followed you to escape. But we didn't say _anything _about following you afterwards. You're a criminal!"

"_I'm _the bad guy? And I suppose Dusk Noir is the good guy? Then explain his actions before!" The Vyle sighed. "Fine. I figured it would help with others with me, but we cannot continue without trust." He walked off, but turned again. "Don't let the Sable eyed catch you," he muttered.

"Wait, the Vyle!" He stopped. "Shouldn't we wait until morning?"

"I hate to admit it, but the sun never rises. So morning never comes."

"What?! Why not?"

"Ever heard of planet paralysis?" As I began to remember where I had heard the phrase, he was back in the shadows where I couldn't see him.

I blinked. Everything was happening too fast. Why did Mr. Noir bring us here? Why did he try to eliminate us? How was this world in paralysis? Didn't Zelf and his brothers prevent the Time Gear from being stolen?

"Tina, I think we should get a move on. You ready?" I nodded slightly, returned to full attention, and walked along Kris.

* * *

As we walked in the world of darkness, my mind drifted back to questions. Would we ever get back? Would we ever see the sun again? Would we ever be free of the dangers here in the future? Would the Sable Eyed catch us? Why did Mr. Noir behave the way he did before? Was he angry with us? That we were too dependent on him? Eventually, through the darkness I could see small flickering lights.

"Kris, do you see that? The first light in a while," I managed a weak smile. "But… but it's coming from that tower we nearly died in," I mumbled, my frown taking over again. I sighed and stared in silence for a while.

"Tina," Kris whispered, putting her hand on my arm. I turned to see my friend. "Tina, we will make it back. We will see the sun again as well as our friends!"

"What?! H-how?"

"Tina, the only way to get back is to find the Vyle."

"The Vyle?! You want us to find that criminal?"

"Tina…I think we need to trust him. Once more."

"But Kris…can we?"

"He went to the past before. I presume he is going to go back again. We should find him."

"I guess we have to. Alright."

Kris smiled. She hugged me tightly, and wiped some tears down her face. I began to feel tears fall down my own.

"Kris…Thank you. I know you were trying to help me feel up when I was feeling down. Maybe I'm a bit upset, but I should be grateful. That I have a friend like you. So, thanks. Kris, we're going to find the Vyle! We're going to go back to our world!"

"Oh, Tina!"

**Enjoy! And please review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**I believe this is my longest chapter yet! Yay!**

**I had some fun with this one. Enjoy!**

"Can you see anything?"

"No, not really. It's too dark." I sighed. We had been walking for hours, with no luck.

"Wait." Kris put out her hand to stop me. Over her shoulder I could see a purple glow coming from the distance.

"Could that be the Vyle?"

"Well," I grinned, "he has a knack for getting in trouble,"

"Then let's have a look-see at what's going on."

Following the purple light, we began to see a man standing before a machine cackling loudly. The purple light itself was enveloped about the Vyle.

"You two!" The Vyle gasped for breath. "Be careful! This guy is bad news!"

"QUIET!" The man roared. "And for those who TRESSPASS, prepare yourselves!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"This man DISTURBED our sleep! I shall make him PAY! As for you two, I will DESTROY YOU!" the man leaped at us in a fury.

"Yikes!" I dodged his attack, and reached for his arm. I pinned it back, and Kris followed my lead. I handed the arm I was holding to Kris and shut off the machine. The purple light evaporated, and the Vyle fell to the ground.

"Okay, OKAY! Leave us BE! We won't bother you AGAIN!" Kris let go of the guy, and he went running off.

"Who was that?"

"That guy I hear is possessed by 108 spirits," muttered the Vyle, "or so the stories say. I believe for that reason they call him Spirit."

"But why did he attack you?"

"In this world of darkness, many of those who live here have been darkened in their spirit. Many people who were once kind have been harmed by the darkness. It has changed most. Anyways," He smirked, "have you chosen to trust me?"

"I'm not sure," I replied. "I'm still deciding. I'm only going to follow you to get back to the past. That is where you're headed, right?"

"Yup."

"Well, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Why did you steal those time gears? I want to know your explanation."

"And what if what I say is a pack of lies?"

"It's okay. I won't believe what you tell me immediately. I'll think through it."

"…Very well. Let's find a place to hide."

* * *

Before long we were sitting in a cave like area. I looked at the Vyle with patient eyes.

"Alright. I'll tell you why I was after the Time Gears. Do you remember how earlier I mentioned that this world has fallen under paralysis?"

"Yeah, Mr. Noir mentioned it to us once."

"Well, the cause of the paralysis dates back to your time. Have you ever heard of TemporalTower?"

I nodded while Kris shook her head.

"TemporalTower is a tower said to be the realm where time is regulated. In your time, the tower was attacked, and time began to fall under havoc. Since nothing was done about it, the planet fell under paralysis."

"That doesn't explain why you were in the past."

"You didn't let me finish. The only way to stop the tower from being completely destroyed was to place the time gears there."

"Place the time gears? But wouldn't the planet be paralyzed by removing the Time Gears?"

"No, only temporarily. But once they would be placed in the tower the paralysis would be no more."

"But Mr. Noir said-"

"You still trust him? Even his name says it- Noir means black, like the blackened heart he possesses. He tried to kill you!"

"I don't know. I mean, he did save us all those times. Besides, that one time in CrystalCave, you almost killed me. How can you say it was alright for you to kill me but what he did was wrong?"

"What, you're saying you are okay with him killing you?!"

"No! I'm just saying-"

"Can you two quit it?!" I looked over at Kris, who seemed annoyed. "Tina, let the guy finish his story! You asked to hear it, anyway!"

"Fine," I grumbled.

"Thank you. Now, as I was saying, I was taking the time gears to stop your world from falling into paralysis."

"So, how are you going to get back to the past?"

"A friend of mine invented a time machine. I plan on using that to get to the past. And if you must, you two may join me." I paused. Would it be the right thing to go with the Vyle? What if he tried to attack us? What if he had lied? I thought about what I had done in times of fear before. Normally I turned to Kris, but she seemed to trust the Vyle. But I didn't think I could trust him. So who to turn to? Mr. Noir? I still couldn't believe he was the bad guy. After all those times he had helped us…

"What are you doing?!" The Vyle yelled as I walked on past him.

"I'm going to Mr. Noir."

"WHAT?! The last time you saw him, he was trying to kill you! You'll be just playing into his hands!"

"But…I'm not sure what to think," I whispered, looking down.

"So? You said you would consider what I had to say then you would decide for yourself what you would do. It's times like this that you need to stick to what you think is right." I sighed. Was he right?

"Fine. I'll go with you. But only to get to the past. But if I find you lied to me, I will attack you."

"Hmmph! You can try. Last I remember, it didn't work in your favor."

I groaned. Why did he always get the last laugh? Then I remembered.

"Hey. One last question."

"What?"

"Is your real name Grover?"

"Wha….DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

"Okay…Grover," I smirked, watching 'Grover' grumble as we trekked on.

* * *

"How much longer?"

"We've only been walking for ten minutes! Stop being so lazy!"

"I AM NOT LAZY!"

"Whatever."

"Oh, you shush, _Grover._"

Grover followed up my remark with more grumbling. Eventually he stopped walking.

"What is it?"

"This is where I normally meet Celestia. Celestia, are you here?"

No response.

"What if Celestia has been kidnapped from Mr. Noir?"

"Don't say that! Celestia is too strong to lose to the likes of Noir!"

"You tell 'em, my dear Grover!" I didn't recognize the voice. Seconds later, a girl dressed in pink walked out from the shadows.

"Celestia," Grover whispered.

"My dear Grover! You are here again! It's so nice to see you!"

"Yeah, same goes for you."

"Hey," I whispered to Kris, "he doesn't mind when she calls him Grover. You think he's in love?"

"I heard that!" Celestia turned a bright pink, which was hard to notice when her entire outfit was pink. She walked past Grover and looked at Kris.

"Grover, is this…?"

"No. No it's not." I shot Grover a confused glance but he ignored me.

"Okay. Well, anyways, you being back here means one thing. You failed?"

"Urk!" Grover face-palmed. "Yeah, I guess I did. And we need to get to the past again."

"Of course! I hate living in this world of darkness. My dear Grover, I would devote my life to reach the end of it! Anyways, the Passage of Time is not far from here! I'll take you to it!"

"The Passage of Time?"

"That's what Celestia calls the machine."

"Oh."

"Well, let's go!" Celestia led us through a path of dead trees. Eventually we reached the end of the path, and in view came a large blue machine.

"Oh! I see it now! There it is!" Celestia pointed with delight.

"Is that…" I breathed, "the Passage of Time?"

"That's right. That's the Passage of Time. I went through that to get to the past. Celestia, only you can open the Passage of Time. Do your thing."

"Sure," grinned Celestia.

"Stop there! That will do!" A familiar voice echoed in the clearing.

"What…? That voice!" Grover panicked.

"It…It can't be," I whispered.

"Hello to you all. It's been a while." The figure leaped from the shadows and stood in front of us.

"N-Noir!"


	19. Chapter 19

**I want to say, that most of this chapter comes directly from the games. I quote almost all but a few lines. So that's that! Enjoy!**

"Mr. Noir…"

"Your scurrying carried you far...but sad to say… that's all over now." Mr. Noir laughed as the Sable eyed surrounded us. I groaned. From in front of me, I could hear Grover groaning as well.

"That's _crafty_, Noir. You allowed us to roam free, but you kept your eye on us the whole time… so you could catch Celestia as well as us." I digested what Grover said with a hint of shock.

"What?! So you mean we were…followed the whole time?!"

"Hmph. I didn't see this coming. It's all my fault Celestia."

"Oh? Apologies don't suit your style, my dear Grover! And do you honestly think I can be caught? Tee hee!"

"Everyone!" Grover flexed his arms. "Are you ready to fight?"

"What? Of course!" As much as I didn't like him, he was right. We had to fight to the end.

"We're going to power our way through! We'll push them aside… then dive into the Passage of Time!"

"G-got it!" As usual, my body trembled in fear. Would Mr. Noir lose that easily?

Mr. Noir cackled. "Grover. Are you really such a fool to think I'd come alone?"

Grover backed up. "Wh-what?" now that even Grover was trembling, I realized we may be in a little too much trouble.

"Now, Master Dia!" A large, angry, scary looking man stomped onto the cliff above us.

"GROOOOOOAHH!" The man roared out, shaking me all over.

"Waah!" I jumped back, falling into Celestia's arms. She released me.

"That's…That's…"

"Grover? What is it?! What is that?!"

"Th-that's …Primal…Dia…"

"What?! That's…Primal Dia?!" Primal Dia was one of the strongest men to ever live. He could control time, or so the myth went. He had lost his mind somehow, and that caused him to be more dangerous. I had heard that as only a myth, but I had never believed Primal Dia existed.

"What's wrong, Grover? Where's your bravado now?" Grover trembled.

"Gah," he mumbled.

"My dear Grover?!"

"This…this is it for us…" Grover fell to his knees.

"What?! Why? Aren't we going to fight?" I was scared too, but my stupidity took over.

"It's hopeless…Noir on his own is one thing…but we don't stand a chance against Dia. You two have kept up so well…I'm sorry to let you down…this is where is ends."

"B-but…" Grover stood up to Mr. Noir, his head drooped.

"I surrender, Dusknoir. Do with me…as you will."

"My d-dear Grover," Celestia whispered.

"What's the matter Grover? It's not like you to give up so easily," laughed Mr. Noir.

"Yes. I am giving up. But…hope is still alive. Celestia…you remember…that last time…when I traveled back in time to prevent the planet's paralysis…I wasn't alone."

Celestia nodded. "There was another."

"What?! Grover, you don't come to the past alone?"

"That's right. I had a partner. We traveled to the past together. But when we were going through the Passage of Time…we became separated. My partner will see our mission through to the end. Even if I am eliminated…my partner will prevent the planet's paralysis." For the first time…I believed Grover. But why had we never met this partner?

Mr. Noir considered this for a second. Then he began to laugh. Louder and louder.

"What's….so funny?"

"Ha! So you claim someone went to the past with you. Incidentally, what was the name of your partner?"

"Why ask such a thing?"

At this point I could see Mr. Noir restraining himself from laughing. What was so amusing to him?

"What? Can't tell me?"

"No…that's not true. My partner's name is Kris. My best friend…" This time, it was Kris's turn to fall back. She was Grover's partner?"

"What? Grover? Did you just say Kris? Well…this is Kris right here!" Grovyle faced Kris, and shook his head.

"I thought so…when I saw her in CrystalCave, but now I know it's not. The Kris I know would never have tried to attack me. Besides, Kris is from the future! Your friend isn't."

At this point Kris was breathing heavily, in shock and confusion. I looked at her with sympathy.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Precisely! My good fellow! Grover, that is unmistakably your friend Kris!"

"Wh-what?"

"The Kris before you _is _from the future!"

"No…"

"Master Dia had given me a mission…it was to get rid of you , Grover and Kris. Because you fled to the past. I traveled in time in pursuit of you both. In the past, I gathered intelligence that might help me find you. And at one point I met Team Destiny…" I remembered the event.

"_I have heard from these brothers that you two saved little Azul when he was threatened by a thief. Is that correct?"_

_"Yeah!" Azul began to jump in the air. "They saved me and brought me back to Marie! They're my heroes!"_

_"That so? You two must be really great people to be a child's hero."_

_"It wasn't much! Besides, you are everyone's hero Mr. Noir!" He smiled._

"But at that point I suspected nothing. But when they mentioned the Dimensional Scream, I was almost sure it was Kris! And when she mentioned her lost memory, my wondering about her kind reaction towards seeing me at the Guild was explained! There was no doubt! This was the Kris I had been looking for! So Kris had developed amnesia, which must have been a result of the accident during your time travel…well, Kris's memory loss was a lucky stroke for me! After all, your partner failed to recognize who I am! It was quite easy to gain your partner's trust, and to drag them into the future when the time came!"

"Urk," I groaned. "Mr. Noir was lying after all…"

"Which left you, Grover, the last part of the job to finish…" Grover remained silent. I looked from Grover to Kris. Each possessed an expression of confusion, shock, and realization.

"Grover and Kris! With the both of you here…everything will end when we finally dispose of you. That will finally put an end to Grover's glimmer of hope! Everything ends…for you! Hoo haa haa!"

"Urgh! Mr. Noir…no!" I shook my head. "NOIR!"

"HA!" Noir smirked. "Have you finally come to terms with your fate?"

"G-Grover! Kris!"

"We shall finally be rid of you for all time! This is the end…for you!" The Sable Eyed laughed harmoniously as they closed in on us.

"NO! Grover, Kris, you can't give up!" I yelled at my crestfallen friends.

"Gah, you say not to give up? But what can we possibly do in this bleak situation?" Grover sighed.

"We have to think!" my mind raced furiously. Our lives depended on an idea, one to keep off the Sable Eyed…

"Celestia! Can you teleport us to the machine?"

"It won't be easy! Dia is the being said to control time!"

"We have to try!"

"Okay…" Celestia punched a few keys on a remote. "Time to travel!"

"NO! MASTER DIA, DO SOMETHING!" Noir began to panic.

"GROAAAHAHHHHH!" My body grew numb for a second. Were we teleporting? No. We _were_. But Dia had stopped us. We now stood inches from the time machine.

"NO! DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE! GET THEM!" I grabbed the collars of Grover and Kris right before they were grabbed by the Sable Eyed, and pulled them in the machine. Celestia waved, before hiding in the shadows.

"Thanks Celestia…" I murmured, as we tumbled into the past.


	20. Chapter 20

**20th chapter! And it's a long one! Over 3 pages!**

**I did not create all of the speech in this chapter. Most of Grover and Tina's early-morning talk was from the game itself. I just added to it.**

**But i still cried while writing this.**

I opened my eyes hesitantly, to a sight I thought I'd never see again. The sun began to set.

"Grover! Kris! We did it!" The two blinked their eyes and got up, brushing sand off their clothes.

"Yep. Look, there's that surfing poster," laughed Kris. She was right. The poster in front of us read Croase's annual surf competition 2013. I couldn't help but laugh as well.

"I'm so happy!" I danced about, a large smile stretched over my face. Grover rolled his eyes, then laughed.

"Well, what should we do now?" Kris pondered aloud.

"Ooh, I know! We can go to the Guild! They can help us! Plus, it'd be great to see them again!"

"Well, Tina, I guess that works for you, but won't they see me as a criminal?"

"Oh, right. Well, I have a second idea. Follow me." I led them past the town, to the cliff above the beach.

"Grover, do you see those leaves? Could you move them aside?" The confused Grover picked up a sheet of intertwined leaves and pushed it out of the way. A hidden staircase was revealed. I jumped down the stairs.

"Oh, good, no one's been here."

"Uh, Tina? What is this?"

"This? This is where I used to live before I transferred to the Guild!" I replied proudly. "We can stay here, if you guys want. After all, no one knows about this place!"

"Okay, that makes sense," grinned Kris. We set up small mattresses I had once made of this and that. Before we knew it, we were watching the moon rise to its full place in the night sky.

"So, Kris," Grover grinned softly, "I couldn't believe it was you. When I saw you in CrystalCave, I couldn't believe it. I though it was you until I realized you would never have gone against me. So, I figured it was just a coincidence. But Kris…" a tear fell from his cheek, "I worried for you. I thought I would never see you again."

Kris remained silent. I understood how she felt. She only remembered this man as a criminal who gravely injured her, and here he was, talking warmly towards her. Maybe she had been very close with him before, but she didn't remember that. Grover seemed to understand too, as he talked less.

"So, how did you meet Kris?" I tried to make the situation less awkward by asking a question. Grover tried to smile again.

"Well, we both worked in the planetary investigation team. We grew close as friends. When we found out the way to solve the planet's paralysis, which was to use all the Time Gears, we figured that we needed to find the time gear locations in the future first, so getting them in the past would be easier. So there was only one step the planetary investigation team had left."

"Which was…?"

"Who would be suited to the task? The solution was easy. The one with the Dimensional Scream should go, since they would be able to find the Time Gears with the ability. And for the ability to work, the owner needed to be accompanied by someone they trusted. So the team was the duo you see before you," Grover's voice softened at the last part. He looked down at his feet.

"Wait. I have another question."

"Yes?"

"Kris was able to use the Dimensional Scream, even when you weren't there! When Kris was with me, it worked too! How did that work?"

"Don't you get it?" It seemed like everything I asked made Grover more upset. I looked at my feet. "That means Kris trusted you from the start. You became her trusted partner, Tina."

I looked at Kris. She smiled softly.

"Well," mumbled Grover, "it's getting late. We should get some rest."

"Okay," I mumbled, closing my eyes.

* * *

After a dream-less sleep, I opened my eyes. I expected to see everyone awake, getting ready to move on, making sure the Sable Eyed were not on our tails. I sighed. I had spent too long in the future.

Regardless, I woke in the night. Everyone was asleep. I couldn't go back to sleep though. My mind was still racing with everything that had just happened. I walked up the staircase to get some fresh air. As I stepped out of the bluff, I gazed at the cliff. I sat at the tip, admiring the ocean. All water I had seen in the future was frozen and unmoving. Here, the water moved freely, splashing on the sand, sinking back to the ocean. And with the moon reflecting on the water, it looked like the ocean sparkled and glowed. I sighed. I had missed the beauty of the past too much in the cold of the future.

"Couldn't sleep?" I turned around. Grover smiled and sat next to me.

"Yeah. Still thinking about what happened."

"About Noir?"

"No, that's not it." I thought about the liar for a second. "Sure, finding out we were deceived came as a real shock. But hearing your story Grover, it really drove it home. What Noir said in the future was really true. And that Kris really was your partner. I was mulling over things like that." I looked over, past the cliff. "Grover, look!" I pointed into the distance. "Sunlight! It's sunrise!"

We sat silently for a few moments, watching the oranges and the pinks roam the sky.

"It's pretty, isn't it," I whispered, admiring the sight. Grover nodded. "Maybe it's because we were in the future for so long…but I didn't think the sunrise could ever feel so renewing!" I smiled softly. "The sun rises, and sets, we take that for granted, and that's only natural. But things we take for granted…they're really the most essential things. And they're precious."

"All I'd ever known is the future's world of darkness." Grover sighed. "Upon coming to this world…and seeing the sun for the first time, it was staggering. Seeing it…it strengthened my resolve to turn history from a world of darkness" He paused for a moment, then resumed talking. "There is one thing I would like to ask of you, Tina."

I turned to face Grover, whose eyes were full of wonder and mystery. "It's about that time in the future. When we were confronted by Primal Dia. Frankly, we were in a no-win situation. There was no hope."

_"We shall finally be rid of you for all time! This is the end…for you!" The Sable Eyed laughed harmoniously as they closed in on us. _

_"NO! Grover, Kris, you can't give up!" I yelled at my crestfallen friends._

_"Gah, you say not to give up? But what can we possibly do in this bleak situation?" Grover sighed._

"But when all seemed lost…you refused to give up. Even I had given up. What compelled you? How did you manage…to stay so strong?"

"Well," I mulled over the thought. "I wonder too. I really don't know. But maybe…maybe it was because Kris stood by me."

"Kris…" murmured Grover.

"Take a look at this." I plopped my Relic Fragment in front of Grover.

"This…what could it be? There's an odd pattern inscribed on it. I've never seen anything like this. This pattern is new to me." Grover studied the rock with great interest. I smiled.

"This is my Relic Fragment. It's my personal treasure. I have this dream of one day solving the mystery behind this fragment." I frowned. "But I was such a coward…I couldn't work up the courage to go to the Guild and apply as an apprentice. It was then…that I met Kris. Kris…"

_"I think we need to jump into the waterfall," she said._

_"What?! Jump into the waterfall? We'll be slammed into the rock and fall down! That's crazy!" Yet she looked pleadingly._

_"….Okay. I believe you. But…are you sure? I'm a little scared," I said while helping her up. She smiled and took my hand._

_"We'll jump together," she said. I don't know what happened, but being with Kris made me feel brave. I felt like I would be able to do it. I really felt sure!_

"Yes, Kris was always there to cheer me up. And…"

_"Yup. You're not going to believe me, but we have to jump in."_

_"You're crazy. I am NOT jumping in! What if there's nothing there? Shoot, why would there be anything there?!"_

_ Kris pouted, then whispered, "Waterfall Cave,"_

_"Waterfall Cave? Oh," I thought back to our first exploration. I had said the same thing that time too. But there was a cave there that time. Kris had been right. I smiled and nodded._

_"Okay, Kris! I trust you! Let's go!"_

"With Kris, I felt I could over come every challenge. That's how I felt over time. Maybe that's why I was able to keep going without giving up!"

"…Alright. I think I understand what you're saying. Yes, Kris has a special quality that makes others feel that way. The same way that I care for Kris as a friend…you, Tina, also feel that way about Kris. Kris is…lucky…to be blessed to have a friend like you…"

I smiled softly. "Grover, I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?"

"For how I treated you. I wasn't very kind. I didn't think you were telling us the truth."

"Oh…" Grover smiled. "I forgive you."

"Really?" my eyes sparkled. "Thank you Grover! Also, I have a question."

Grover laughed. "Another one? When will you run out?"

I smirked. "Why did you hate being called Grover?"

"Hm…I don't know really. It bugged me a bit, so I changed it when I came to the past. But maybe…maybe I should've chosen a better nickname. It posed me as a mean person, I guess."

"But do you mind me calling you Grover?"

"No…I don't mind. I'm fine with friends calling me that. We are friends…right?"

"Of course!"

"Grover? Tina?" a sleepy Kris popped out from the stairs. "…oh. There you are. What are you doing?"

"Uh…we're planning out our strategy for today. We should be leaving soon. You ready?"

"I will be, after I eat something..." we laughed as Grover pulled out apples from his sack.

"I always come prepared," he stated, chewing on his apple.


	21. Chapter 21

"So," I muttered, after we had eaten. "What _is _the plan for today?"

"Uh…" Grover paused. "Okay, I know we need to find the Time Gears. So, which one should we start with?"

"Uh…I think Quicksand Pit is closest to here. Speaking of, isn't that where we met you?"

"Yeah…I think so. But Treeshroud Forest, in my opinion is the better choice. There is no one there that defends the Time Gear, like Zelf, Melody, and U."

"Oh…you're right. That does make sense. We don't want to attract any attention."

"Exactly. Then Treeshroud Forest it is! But I'll warn you, it is a very thick and deep forest. It will take a while to clear to the heart of it."

"There's nothing we can't do! Let's go!"

* * *

Grover was right; the forest was very deep. It seemed like we had been walking for ages.

"Are we there yet?" I groaned, kicking the dirt was I walked.

"Tina, do you always complain when you go places?"

"Yes," muttered Kris.

"No," I replied.

"I think Kris is right on this one," laughed Grover.

"Well, at least I don't have to deal with it alone anymore," smirked Kris.

"YOU TWO! DON'T TEAM AGAINST ME!"

* * *

"Are we there yet?!"

"No."

"Now?"

"Not quite."

"Ugh!" I groaned. "We'll never get there!"

"Actually, It's right there."

"Huh?" True to his word, we were in the heart of the forest. The trees formed a circular clearing. And in the center…

"Hey! Grover? The Time Gear is right there! But why is time stopped?" Kris was justified in her question. Everything was frozen in time, just like in the future.

"…"

"Grover?"

Grover grabbed the Time Gear from its place and placed it in his bag.

"Wha...? What did you do that for?"

"Time has already stopped. It wouldn't matter whether or not I took the Time Gear."

"Well, okay."

"Tina, I have a request to make of you."

"Sure! What is it?"

"Obviously something odd is going on here. So I want you to sneak about Treasure Town-make sure you aren't seen-and find out what the news is."

"Okay! I'll meet you two at Sharp Edow Bluff!"

"Sharp Edow Bluff?"

"That's what that place is called! Where we slept last night!"

"Oh, okay!" I laughed as I waved and ran off ahead of the rest.

* * *

"Hey, whose that over there?"

Shoot.

_"Obviously something odd is going on here. So I want you to sneak about Treasure Town-make sure you aren't seen-and find out what the news is."_

I had said okay, but this was a lot tougher than I imagined. Every shadow I stood in someone could see me. At least they weren't able to recognize me…

"I don't see anyone."

_Phew._ I stayed in place.

"Anyways, have you heard of the news?"

"Yeah, that even then they put the Time Gears back but the time didn't flow like normal!"

"Weird, huh?"

Yes, weird indeed.

"I thought time would go back to normal there!"

"We all did. And get this…its spreading past the realms of Time Gears."

"Its…spreading?!"

What could that mean?

"Well that's not good. How will we have the surfing contest then?"

"Dunno, man. Let's hit up some extra practice anyways."

"Right behind you." The two guys walked in the direction of the water, allowing me a chance to run to the bluff where Kris and Grover where waiting.

* * *

"Tina!"

"It's Tina! Tina, what's the word?"

"Wait Grover! Give her a second to rest."

"Thank you Kris," I gasped, sipping the water Kris placed in my hands. "Okay, the news! Well, it's not very good."

I told Kris and Grover about what I had heard those two guys talking about. Grover stayed silent.

"Grover, what are you thinking about?" I stared at him, and as he lifted his head I could see an expression of worry.

"Temporal Tower…is starting to collapse."

"What? How do you know that?" Kris and I questioned the thought in unison.

"If time is stopping, then Temporal Tower is not fully in the structure it should be. It's collapsing. That means…the planet's paralysis is coming on fast."

"Well, what can we do?"

"We have to split up. I'll go after the time gears. You two…have you ever heard of the Hidden Land?" I shook my head. Kris did the same. I expected Grover to be upset, but he smiled.

"That's alright. I don't know anything of it either. The name itself is the _Hidden_ land. All I know is that Temporal Tower is located there. Can I trust you two to find out how to get there? You may even have to cross the sea! But I don't know how."

"Sure! But, how can we keep in touch with you?"

"I will return on occasion to here or the beach. You can speak to me if you can get to those places when I am there. Good luck." We waved as Grover walked up the staircase and out of sight.

"Okay! Let's find the Hidden Land!"

"….How?"

"I don't know. Grover did say we might have to cross the sea. Should we check out the beach?"

"Okay," Kris shrugged. I laughed.

"Well, missy, if you have a better idea, then just say so!"

"No, I don't. Let's go."

**Alright! 21 chapters! Yay! **

**Anyways, I am writing this author note to ask a question. Recently, my chapters have been longer than usual. My chapters used to be between 900-1300 words, but they have been in recent chapters above 1500 words each, which is a lot for me. Also, at first I uploaded a chapter a day, but now it's about 3-5 a week. So! Here's the question!**

**Should I write shorter chapters and upload more often, or keep uploading at my current speed?**

**Please review your opinion! I have over 500 views on this story (and not nearly as many reviews), and I want to hear your voices!**


	22. Chapter 22

I would have much preferred walking through Treasure Town, the shorter way, but, that was a little hard to do, seeing as how we disappeared in front of the town, and to their knowledge, we weren't coming back. So instead, we traveled through the paths not commonly taken, the ones right outside of town. Should I add, the _longest _path.

"So, Tina!" Kris smiled. "What now?"

"Uh…" I sat down on the sand. Kris came and sat by me.

"Kris, how can we do this? All we know about the Hidden Land is that it's hidden."

"Tina…you know what we have to do," Kris whispered. I looked at her quizzically.

"No, I don't know. What?"

"Tina, we need to go back to the Guild."

"What?! But we disappeared in front of them! You really think we should just pop in and say hi?" Kris stared at me with her pleading eyes.

"Kris….I trust you, you know that, but are you sure?" Kris nodded. I sighed.

"Okay…If you're positive, then I'll do it. Let's go, Kris. Together." I smiled and reached my hand out to hers, and she grasped it. We walked towards the Guild.

"Wow, this brings back memories, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. The last time we did this, was when I met you, right?"

"Think so." We arrived at the Guild. I smiled softly.

"I guess I'll stand under the grid and let Red yell at me," I joked. My heart thumping furiously, I placed my foot on the grid.

"PERSON DETECTED. PERSON DETECTED." Memories washed back, and I felt myself crying.

"WHO IS IT!" I couldn't bring myself to speak.

"LITTLE DIG, WHERE ARE YOU GOING? HOW DARE YOU LEAVE YOUR POST!" The voice bellowed about the entrance. Typical Red.

"But, I recognize those shoes! It's…it's…" Little Dig burst through the doors. "IT'S TINA! AND KRIS!"

"Hey, Little Dig," I whispered, before getting engulfed in a hug.

"TINA?! TINA IS HERE?" Red burst out, followed by Flora and the rest of the gang. Kris and I fell victim to an enormous group hug.

"Ack…can't…breathe…"

"Oh. Sorry!" Slowly they let go. I breathed heavily, the moment I wasn't being squeezed anymore.

"You two…are alive? We thought we'd never see you again!" I smiled at Clara.

"At times I thought I'd never see you guys again, either," I choked back tears.

* * *

"What?! You can't be serious!"

"I'm sorry Mr. Chatosky, but that's the truth!"

"Let me recap. The Vyle, the _criminal, _is actually the good guy? And Mr. Noir, the one we all trusted, is the bad guy? A heinous and wicked villain?"

"Yep. Although, I didn't call him heinous and wicked villain. You did. But," I smiled, "I think it fits him."

"Also, Kris was The Vyle's partner on a quest to find all the time gears? But they were separated in the time travel and Kris lost her memory?"

"Yes."

"So Mr. Noir took The Vyle and Kris to the future to get rid of them?"

"Yep. And me too." _Although, I did wonder why he wanted to get rid of me._

"So you managed to escape by the skin of your teeth? And now the Vyle is back to taking the Time Gears? Meanwhile, you two are to find a place called the Hidden land? Is that your story in full?"

"Yes and yes."

"Tina…Kris…I think you two need a good long rest. You have been so tired, you are imagining things!"

"Wait…what? You think we're lying?! We told you the truth!"

"Oh, sure, sure," replied Mr. Chatosky sarcastically.

"Mr. Chatosky, we are telling you the truth! Seriously!" Mr. Chatosky's cheery attitude died down, and an angry expression took its place.

"That's quite enough!" He fumed. "Tell me! Is there any part of your tale that is even remotely plausible? Think about it! The Hidden Land? I'm the encyclopedia on this world, and I've never heard of such a thing! Besides, Mr. Noir is far too kind to have done anything you've accused him of!"

"W-well, yes it's true that I couldn't believe that Noir was bad at first. It came as a shock. And it was really hard to accept." I looked down glumly. "But-"

"I_ refuse_ to hear anymore of this nonsense! Mr. Noir?! The _villain_? How can anyone think lowly of him?"

"We hold Mr. Noir in high esteem," chanted Dug Trio. "We cannot believe it."

"See? See?! Everyone shares the same opinon!" I felt my eyes water as I gazed about the room of weary expressions.

"But…" Flora started.

"But?! But WHAT?!" I had never heard Mr. Chatosky shout like this.

"There is something I don't understand," she finished. "When the Great Mr. Noir was about to return to the future…"

_"I guess this is goodbye…or is it?"_

_"Pardon me? What did you say?!"_

_"You two…are coming with me!" Mr. Noir grabbed our arms, and before I knew what was going on we were tumbling down surrounded in blue light, myself losing consciousness._

"What Mr. Noir did then, it was strange, any way you look at it."

"You think? Couldn't these two have tripped in?"

"NO WAY MR. CHATOSKY! MR. NOIR GRABBED THEM! AND DRAGGED THEM IN!"

"Hey, hey! That's true!" Corp called out. "It was really weird!"

"Gosh, I don't know what to make of it, either!" Barry scratched his head.

"But if what Tina and Kris said is true, then what Mr. Noir did makes perfect sense!"

"What?! So now you all believe them?"

Everyone stayed silent. I looked pleadingly at everyone. No one opened their mouths. Then…

"Uh…I believe them."

"Barry?! You can't be serious! So, you now claim that Mr. Noir is the villain?"

"Gosh, I really respected Mr. Noir! I admired him and everything. But…" Barry walked up next to me. "But I trust my friends. I would never doubt them for even a second! They're more important, and I believe them!"

"Barry," I whispered, full of joy.

"Yeah! I believe my friends too!"

"Trust is a must!"

"I believe them!"

"Me too!"

"So do I!" With each of my friends standing their ground, Mr. Chatosky got more and more surprised.

"Yay!" Mr. Waggletuff smiled. "Sounds like we all trust our friends! That's great!"

"Hold it," snapped Red. My eyes widened at the fact that he hadn't yelled. "One of us hasn't agreed yet." He pointed a finger at Mr. Chatosky.

"What? Chatosky trusts them."

"WHAT?!" we all shouted. cracked a smile. Slowly, his smile burst into laughed.

"Ha! Oh, Mr. Waggletuff. I can never fool you!"

"WHAT?"

"I believed them from the start! But if I said that, I'm sure you all would have followed me from the start! I wanted to test your friendship!"

"Yeah…sure…"

"Uh-huh. We believe you…" Red and Flora rolled their eyes. I giggled.

"So. what do we do now?"

Good question. I didn't know what to do. I looked at Kris, who shrugged. I heard a rumble. Kris turned red.

"Maybe we should eat first…" I joked. I heard another grumble then, only that time I felt it, too.

"I'm not the only one whose hungry," grinned Kris. Everyone laughed. Kris's stomach began to grumble again.

"THAT'S RIGHT TINA! LET YOUR STOMACH GROWL AT CLARA! SHE NEEDS TO HAVE DINNER READY SOON ANYWAYS!"

I laughed until my stomach began to hurt. Eventually we all headed for dinner.


	23. Chapter 23

"THREE SMILES GO FOR MILES!"

"Alright everyone! Here's the to-do's for the day! First, spread the news that Kris and Tina are back, and that the Vyle is not a threat! He needs to collect the time gears! Second, find out what you can about the Hidden land!"

"HOORAY!" Everyone walked off in excitement.

"Kris! Tina!" Mr. Chatosky called us over. We walked over to him. "I think you might be able to find out something of the HiddenLand from the Town Elder."

"The…town elder?"

"His name is Mr. Coal. You can usually find him in Hot Springs."

"Hm…" I thought about it. Something about it seemed familiar…

"We've been to the Hot Springs before, haven't we?" Kris nodded.

"Remember when we met that old man who told us to rest before we headed home?"

"Oh yeah. Well, I only remember one way to get to the Hot Springs…"

"Don't tell me." Kris groaned. "Waterfall cave?"

* * *

"AAAAAHHH!"

"Thank you for flying A FREAKING WATERFALL airways. We hope you enjoyed your flight. That is, if you survived it. You okay Kris?" I wiped water droplets off my face and helped her up.

"Yeah, I think so." She rubbed her eyes.

"Goodness, are you two alright?" the voice was familiar. I looked over to see the worried face I saw months ago, when were here last. "Wait, I think I know you two! You look familiar, have you been here before?"

"Yeah," I smiled, "we came here the same way, too."

"Really? You two were the ones to end up here from that waterfall?" I nodded.

"Sir, if you don't mind, we wanted to ask you about something…"

* * *

"I see. The Hidden Land?"

"Yeah. Erm, have you heard of it?" I scratched my head, looking at the Town Elder hopefully. He mulled it over, and we sat in silence.

"No," he muttered after a few minutes. "I'm sorry. I don't know. I can't remember."

"Oh," I looked down at my feet.

"I really am sorry, it sounds familiar, but I can't trace it to what."

"Okay. But if you remember anything, could you tell us?"

"Yes, yes," he trailed off. I sighed.

"Come on, Kris. Let's get back to the Guild." I walked towards the small path outside the hot springs.

"Wait!" Mr. Coal called. I looked back. "Um, I think you had to have some proof."

"Proof? For what?" My interest returned.

"To get to the HiddenLand. You had to get proof. But….I don't know what else. That's all I remember. Sorry."

"That's alright." I managed a smile. "Well, thank you, sir." I waved to Mr. Coal while walking off.

"Well, we aren't much farther in this than we were before," Kris mumbled. Much as I agreed, I hated to see Kris this upset.

"Well, not exactly, I mean, all we need to do is to find out what this proof is, and how to use it."

"Well, let's just worry about that tomorrow morning. I'm ready to eat dinner and go to sleep.

"Wait, it's already dark?" I looked out, seeing the sun beginning to set.

"Yeah, that makes sense. After all, time has been going haywire. I'm not surprised it's evening." I thought about what Kris said. If time was wreaking a havoc, and this day actually did finish quicker, despite it being the middle of summer, then was the collapse of TemporalTower getting closer?

"Tina, you okay?" I looked up at her, forging a smile.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, but you seem a bit concerned."

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Let's get back to the Guild."

* * *

"GET UP YOU TWO!"

I blinked my eyes rapidly, adjusting to the sudden burst of morning light. Pulling myself up, I walked down the narrow hallway. I waited tiredly for everyone else to arrive at the main hall.

"Alright everyone! I hope you all had a good sleep!" Mr. Chatosky's voice was cheery and uplifting. "Kris, and Tina. I didn't get to ask you how your mission went?"

"Well…" I started, looking at Kris.

"We didn't find much. The town elder couldn't really remember much, but he told us he'd inform us if he did."

"Ah, I see. Then our next course of action-" Mr. Chatosky was interrupted by an incoming Little Dig.

"Excuse me, Mr. Chatosky! But Mr. Coal, the Town Elder is here." True to his word, Mr. Coal walked into the hall.

"Oh dear me…" he wheezed. "It's hard on these bones to take a little trip these days!"

"Mr. Coal, sir! Is there anything we can do for you?"

"Um, no."

"Then why are you here, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I have something to tell those two!" Mr. Coal pointed in our direction.

"Mr. Coal? Is there something you remembered?" I smiled widely. Maybe we were getting somewhere!

"Yes, but I'm afraid it's something small. I fear it may be useless having come this whole way just to tell you."

"No matter," smiled Mr. Waggletuff. "Anything maybe helpful, no matter how big or small."

"If you say so. Well, yesterday we discussed the HiddenLand. I told you that you needed some sort of proof. Well, I thought about it after you left. But…I really don't think it was worth coming all this way…"

"Please, anything will do! Just tell us!" I suppose what I said was rude, but I really wanted to know.

"Well, about the proof, I think it had something to do with a pattern."

"A PATTERN?!"

"Well, yeah." Mr. Coal looked hurt. I calmed down, guilty I had let myself get overworked. "It was an odd pattern. Like something you don't see everyday."

"Well, that doesn't really help," I muttered quietly.

"Tina, I think you have something that might help us," Kris whispered in my ear. I was confused. What was she talking about?

"Hint," she pointed at my pocket. I thrusted my arm in there, pulling out my Relic Fragment.

"Uh, Mr. Coal, I have a question. There is something that I've been holding onto for a while, and I was wondering if you knew the meaning of it." I handed him the Relic Fragment.

"Wha-this can't be!" In shock Mr. Coal dropped the Relic Fragment. I leaped forward to grab it before it fell on the floor.

"Phew," I whispered, hugging the rock. Weird as that sounded, the rock meant a lot to me.

"Tina," Mr. Coal gasped as I leaped up, "where did you find that?"

"Uh, I don't really know. Why?"

"Tina…That's the pattern." he pointed at my Relic Fragment, fingers shaking.

**Hello to all!**

**I have not updated this story for a while, and I apologize. But, with school coming up, and other things, I think I need to put this story on hold for a bit.**

**I think that would be the best for me as a writer, and for you all as readers. I need to get ready for school coming up, and I also need to catch up on writing. I think I'll try to write ahead of posting, so I'm not posting as soon as I finish writing the chapter like I used to. So I'll be able to update faster when I resume posting! It's a win-win!**

**So, goodbye, for now. Myraah out.**


End file.
